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02-14-2021 – Live Stream – Class: Mark 6:30-56 & Sermon: God’s Definition of a Faithful Man (Part 2)

In Bible Classes Videos, Jesus, Live Streams, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

02-14-2021 – Live Stream – Class: Mark 6:30-56 & Sermon: God’s Definition of a Faithful Man (Part 2)

Speaker: Aaron Cozort

Collierville Church of Christ
575 Shelton Road,
Collierville, TN

Come join us at 9:30 AM for class and 10:30 for worship

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible><inaudible> why would that get turned off? I have no idea. That’s true. All right. We’re going live.<inaudible> good morning.<inaudible> It is on mornings like this, that I missed the Appalachian mountains, all that much more growing up in Eastern Kentucky, we didn’t have a lot of extreme weather. Like one of the things I liked about Eastern Kentucky is in the summer,

we had about three days of a hundred degrees or 98 degrees and above. And then we were done for the rest of the year, three days. And that’s my kind of summer right there. And then winter would come and we’d have this thing called winter. You know, it was, but we didn’t have it all year long. You know, it wasn’t like Alaska,

you didn’t have six months of winter. You had two or three months where it was cold. You get snow, you go sledding. And then it would all go back to spring again. And it was great. And we, we could grow grass, just, you know, just, just grass. It’s great, but I love y’all. So we’re here,

so it’s okay. But it’s sure is if I just stop every once in a while, look outside, that’s just what I’m doing. I’m just watching it snow. We had a, we had a guy in school who was one of my roommates who moved to tri cities, which was Elizabeth and Tennessee, just near Bristol, Virginia. So up in the Appalachian mountains.

And he moved there from Montgomery, Alabama, and our first winner in classes. We were there in class and we are, our class was in the fellowship hall because we had the largest class. So we had six people. We had to be in the fellowship hall. And the fellowship hall at that church building was lined with windows. So we were right there in the middle of class winners,

just starting to set in and we’re in class. Somebody looks over and says, Hey, it’s snowing my roommate from Montgomery, Alabama, where they never get snow. And in the winter, they never traveled to anywhere. They got snow, got up, walked out of class, went and stood for 15 minutes in front of the great big glass doors at the front of the church building and just watched the snow.

It’s just incredible. And we were all going, where do you go? You know, we thought maybe he just went up, went to the bathroom, that 15 minutes later, he finally came back. I was like, what are you doing? He’s like, I was watching it snow, no gay Mark chapter six. I’d love to say that was the weirdest thing he did while we were in school.

But Mark chapter six, let’s begin with a word of prayer. Our gracious father in heaven. We are so thankful for all that you do for us and all that you’ve done for us throughout this last week. We’re grateful for this day and for the health that we have to be able to come out and assembled together. We are mindful of those who are at home because of health or because of many other reasons.

We pray that your hand be upon them and that you watch over them and give them strength and comfort. We’re grateful for all of the many wonders that you have created to show your power and your glory to give to us things that we can enjoy. And we are so grateful that most, especially above all that you care for man, that you are mindful of him,

that you have provided an opportunity in the blood of Jesus Christ for salvation and hope in eternity. We pray that you will be with us as we go through this period of study, help us to learn the lessons that are here in this text for us, that we might be mindful of what it is that you have said, that we might be obedient to your word that we might in faith,

obey you. We ask that you forgive us when we sin and fall short of your glory and are willing to repent of those things. All this, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Go through the questions from Wednesday briefly, Mark chapter six, verses one through four. How was Jesus received in his hometown? When he taught in the synagogue. All right.

Without honor, he was rejected. Mark chapter six, verse three. Did Jesus have any fleshly brothers and sisters? Yes. Mark chapter three, six, verse three, named them at least the ones we have names for James Joseph Judas assignment. Alright. What size groups of his apostles did Jesus send out teaching and performing miracles? All right. Two by two.

What items did he instruct them to carry a staff? All right. When Jesus sent the apostles in payer’s out teaching, what were his instructions for those who did not listen? Chapter six, verse 11. All right. They were to depart from them and shake the dust off their feet. Mark chapter six, verses 17 and 18, who had imprisoned John the Baptist Herod.

Why? All right, because John told him he was not of his brother Phillip’s wife. W yup. This would have been, I’m going to get it wrong if I try and say it off the top of my head, but I’m going to, I think it’s Herod Antipas is the one who beheaded John Phillip was his brother and they were, they were kind of co rulers at the time.

So, but Herod Antipas being the one over that area. So it is that’s off the top of my head. You can quote me if I’m wrong, but just do it behind my back. Okay. What were Harrod’s feelings toward John and his teachings? All right. He feared because he knew he was adjust and Holy man, and he heard him regularly,

even when he was in prison, chapter six, verses 21 through 28. Why did Herod have John the Baptist beheaded? All right. At the request of who? All right. The daughter of<inaudible>. So we are in the latter half of chapter six this morning, beginning, verse 30, going down through the end of the chapter. This does one of those accounts,

a very, one of the very few that is recorded in all four of the gospels. And that is the feeding of the 5,000. Now we know there’s another occasion where 4,000 more are fed, but this is the same account that is recorded in John chapter six and or John chapter five and six, and the events surrounding it are quite interesting. And it shows the significance of it by the fact that all of the gospel records do record it.

Each one, giving a kind of a different piece of information, different set of information in the grand scheme of things. But Mark actually gives us some interesting information from his record that I think will be valuable to us. As we understand the event beginning verse 30, then the apostles gathered to Jesus and hold him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught what’s going on.

Why, why are the disciples telling Jesus what they did? I thought they followed him around.<inaudible> All right. He had just sent them out. Okay. So, so this comes on the heels of, he has sent them out into all of these cities going throughout the region teaching. And now they’re returning and they’re giving an account of the things that occurred while they were traveling around teaching and preaching while they were traveling around.

Did they just teach and preach or was there another aspect to what they did? Okay. He gave them power to perform miracles. He gave them power to cast out demons. So what I want us to picture here is what would have happened as a result of this? Jesus, of course, could Only so far and only so fast on foot going from city to city.

What, the moment you take 12 people and you send them six different directions in teams of two news about Jesus begins to grow a whole lot faster. Remember this time we’re in the second year of Jesus’ ministry. The first year predominantly occurred down in Judea. It occurred in drew slum and in the, the outlying areas of Judea, but they’re not in Judea anymore.

The, there would have been people who may be at heard about Jesus at one of the fees who saw Jesus at one of the face, heard what he had taught during those times. But now they’re in Galilee, they’re in the Northern region of Israel. Raise your hand if you know the inner workings of what’s going on in Jackson, Mississippi this week.

No, not anybody. Why? Cause it’s half stayed way don’t expect. And this is the way we deal with it. Sometimes we read about places and we don’t put them in proportion to their distance away from each other and add in the fact that you’re in ancient times and they didn’t have internet, they didn’t have phones. They didn’t have, you know,

go down the list. They didn’t have telegraphs. You know, they had people transferring information. And if you didn’t come into contact with one of those people that had the information, you probably didn’t hear about it. So all of these things are generating here in the Northern part of Israel, through Jesus, sending out his disciples, they’re generating the recognition and the popularity and the,

the view of Jesus that had previously existed in Judea, but not up in Galilee because they hadn’t heard about him. And so they’re beginning to hear concerning who he is. They’re beginning to hear about what he’s done. And if his disciples can cast out demons, if his disciples can heal people, then what do you assume about the one who they’re disciples of that?

He can do all that and more. Okay. So the reasoning from the lesser to the greater the expectation is, is they come into contact with these disciples coming into their town, their village, their community, that they’re someone, not only that they’re being taught about, but they can reason about has greater abilities, greater knowledge, greater teaching, greater instruction.

Then these disciples, these people would have been familiar with the position, the concept of the disciples, the disciples, a learner, not the teacher, they’re the servant, not the master. And so when you encountered A disciple, your brain immediately goes in that time. Oh, well, who’s the teacher, who’s the master. Let me go learn from him.

So they come to Jesus, the apostles come to Jesus and they gathered to him and tell him all that was done and what they had taught. And he said to them, actually, before I go past that, let me remind you of a statement. Jesus made, Jesus told them bilayer the leaven of the Pharisees. And he said, the leaven of the Pharisees was what hypocrisy.

All right. I knew y’all get to it. Alright. So the leaven of Harris of the Pharisees is hypocrisy. And in that cell, same context, he warns them. What you say in the closet will be shouted from the rooftop. What you say in private will be made known in public. So as he sends them out, having told them,

you don’t live like the Pharisees. You don’t go out and teach people one thing and then live something different. He is also allowing them to come back and tell them, tell him what they taught. And he can evaluate whether or not they’re living what they taught. Okay. So he said to them, come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest for a while for there were many coming and going,

and they did not even have time to eat as a result of the things that have transpired as a result of the teaching, that Jesus has done the miracles that he’s done. And now the sending out of the 12, there are so many people coming to Jesus that his disciples literally are. Aren’t even having time to eat their own food because it’s just one person right after another,

after another, after another. And part of their responsibility was to make sure that these people are taken care of, make sure that they come, you know, when they come to see Jesus, they’re able to see them, but then they move. You know, they’re in a very real sense, partially crowd control when they’re around Jesus and here they are,

they’re doing all this. And Jesus is saying, this isn’t good. This isn’t what you need to be doing right now. You need to come aside. You need to rest. There’s a, there’s an emphasis here that I think is valuable. And it’s a good reminder to preachers because preachers have a tendency to burn themselves out. But it’s also a good reminder to caregivers.

A good reminder to people who have others, that they take care of parents, mothers, that sometimes when you’ve got burden after burden, after burden, necessity, after necessity, after necessity, someone who always needs something that you’ve got to have time for you, you’ve got to have time to be able to pull away from that and say, no, we have a phrase at our house,

occasionally, where the children will say, Hey, mommy, and mommy will say, mommy’s not here right now. Or mommy is currently on vacation. Please talk to your father. Why? Because there’s comes a point. Just some meat. You need a break. My mother likes to say, when she had three young children, two of whom were in diapers.

And one of whom was barely out of diapers that occasionally my father would come home. She’d meet him at the door and say, here they’re yours. And that’s the reality that sometimes you have to take a break. And those people who think well, but, but I just got here. Well, sorry, you just got here. But that doesn’t mean that your moment of time is more important than the wellbeing of someone who needs to take that rest.

So he, they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves, but the multitudes saw them departing and many knew him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to him. So their goal is to go out to a deserted place, to go out of the cities and, and out of the towns and out of the villages to wilderness area for rest.

But they get on what to go there about and seeing them on the boat. Somebody recognizes them. And pretty soon what’s following them crowd of people. And pretty soon they’re not only following them. They’re what they’re ahead of them. That they get there before the disciples do, before the boat lands, the people are already there. The crowd is already there,

but how does it Martin describes the people as doing what to reach, where they were getting to or where the disciples were going. They ran th th they were, they were coming from all the cities and they were, they were rushing that this wasn’t, Hey, we’re going to have a great big gathering. Tuesday night out at this location. Be ready,

show up. We’re going to be there for about 12 hours. Come be, you know, have everything prepared when you get there. No, it wasn’t. It wasn’t like that. The news was spreading and they, as it were dropped, everything and went and they went there in a hurry. So what did they not bring food provisions? They,

they, they didn’t take, fought for what they would need in four hours, five hours, 12 hours tomorrow. And instead they rushed out to see Jesus. Well then notice verse 34. And Jesus, when he came out, came out of where the boat, right as he came out, or when he came out, he saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep,

not having a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things. There are a number of old Testament passages, Zechariah, Hosea, Isaiah, numerous old Testament prophets that compare the teachers in Jesus’ day to shepherds, who instead of guarding the sheep and feeding the sheep and taking care of the sheep are instead profiting off the sheep and killing the sheep. They’re not being good shepherds.

And so the analogy that is made by a ZQ Elon by Hosea and by is, has a CA Hezekiah, Zachariah, and others is that God is going to judge those wicked shepherds and raise up his own shepherd. Of course we know Jesus is described as the good shepherd. He is the one that would be the shepherd to judge those evil shepherds. But he looks at these people and we’re,

we’re given this little glimpse into Jesus’s mind, this, this isn’t somebody’s opinion of what Jesus thought. This is what Jesus thought he saw them. He had compassion on them for they were as she, without a shepherd. Absolutely, absolutely. So the, the nature of sheep and in part of that analogy is the nature of sheep being without a shepherd,

they wander, they don’t pay attention. They have no defenses. And that’s one of the things about sheep is they are a defenseless creature. And so they’re easy prey when they’re not guarded actively by someone. And so here they are. They’re without provision, they’re without protection, they’re without instruction. They’re without direction. And they’re here and they’ve run here to see Jesus.

So he could have said, you know what? I came here for a completely different reason. My disciples are important to me. W we’re we don’t have time for you right now. W w they need to rest and he could have sent them away, but he didn’t. Instead, we read that he had compassion on them. When the day was now,

far spent verse 35, his disciples came to him and said, this is a deserted place. And already the hour is late. Send them away that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread for, they have nothing to eat. The disciples. And the implication in here is that Jesus having compassion on them began to teach them.

Where would Jesus often teach from, from wilderness, from a mountain. If he was near sea of Galilee, where would he also often teach from, from, from the water, from a boat? So all of these are locations where he, he might have taught from the indication is he perhaps went up in the mountain. But the idea here is he’s teaching them.

They’re listening. The day goes on, it gets deeper and deeper into the day. And the disciples come to him and say, these people are going to have to eat, send them away, tell them to go fend for themselves. Yes. Now, what is it that the religious shepherds had done to Israel instead of feeding them, instead of protecting them,

instead of teaching them to know God, instead of telling them what the scriptures actually taught, what did they left them to do? Ben for themselves, they were as sheep without a shepherd. And the disciples come to Jesus and looking at the situation again, they don’t know what’s in Jesus’s mind. They don’t see what Jesus sees. They don’t know what Jesus knows.

They’re just being disciples. They’re trying to care for their master. They’re trying to provide for him, that’s their job. But in doing so, they become like those same teachers that Jesus is opposing in saying, send them away, let them do for themselves. And Jesus has a completely different idea, but it also is. We get in here as we get into this text and into this account,

one of the things that you’re seeing is you are seeing a type apology between Moses and Christ. When the children of Israel came out of Egypt. And when they went into the wilderness and they went to Mount Sinai, what was one of the first and immediate problems? They had water. What was the other one? Food they’re in the wilderness. There they’re no longer in Egypt.

They’re no longer near the gardens and near the, the, the cucumbers and the leaks and the, all the things that they used to have down in Egypt. They’re no longer in the prosperity of the land of the, of the Nile river. They’re in the wilderness. And while they have flocks and herds and things like that with them, the Frank fact of the matter is there’s nowhere near enough.

If they start consuming their flocks in their herds to feed them because they have no definitive time when they’ll be gone. So they tell Moses we’re hungry. You did, you bring us out here in the wilderness to kill us? Is that what this was all about? We, we left Egypt to die of starvation in the wilderness. And so God will provide for them.

What does God give Israel in there in the book of Exodus Manoj, which was what that’s right. The word in the Hebrew man, what is it? W we do know it was a light bread, like substance. It, it had the taste like honey and coriander seed. It was, it was a, something that could be ground. It could be,

it could be baked. It could be made into other things, but it was a bread. Where did it come from? Heaven. When did he show up morning time? How did they get it? They had to go out and gather it. How much were they allowed to have a day’s worth? And if there was, if it was the case that they went out and gathered too much,

how much did they have a day’s worth? And how much were they supposed to get on Friday, a double portion, two days worth. And it was the only day that if they gathered two days worth it wouldn’t spoil overnight. That was manna. Jesus. Now has this large group of people in the wilderness. And you’re going to see in this,

a picture of Moses drawn forward to Jesus. Okay? So verse 36 says, send them away that they may go into the surrounding countries and villages and buy themselves bread for, they have nothing to eat. And he answered and said to them, you give them something to eat. Have you ever had that look returned to you, either by a child,

a student, or an employee where you tell them to do something and they stare at you at, and you know, what’s going through your mind. You have got to be kidding me. How in the world are we going to do this? He says, you give them something to eat. Now, just remember, where did they just return from going into all these cities and doing what teaching and doing what performing miracles,

but here’s the limitation of, of human understanding. They have the faith to perform a miracle. They’ve seen Jesus perform, but they don’t have the faith to perform a miracle. They’ve never seen Jesus perform. They can cast out a demon, but they can’t turn one loaf of bread into two. Is that because they couldn’t do it, or because they didn’t believe they could do it.

That’s right. And, and we, we find this difficulty over and over and over again in our own lives where we don’t look at a situation and go, what can God do if we ask we instead, look at what can I do? And then we judge, what can I do based upon what I’ve always done? And this was something they never done.

So in their minds, it was what impossible watch. And he said to them, shall we go and, or excuse me. And they said to him, shall we go and buy 200, didn’t go and buy 200 denari worth of bread and give them something to eat 200 denari. Somebody gave me some idea how much money that is in their day in time.

All right. So one dinner is a day’s wage. So 200 is 200 days wage. Well, over half a year’s worth of, of, of work. And most people at that time lived from day today. And so they said, what are we supposed to do? Go, go spend 200 days wages, just, just to go buy the food.

And then he said, how many loaves do you have? Go and see. And when they found out, they said five and two fish, then he commanded them to make the, he commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in ranks in hundreds and in fifties. And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fish,

he looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples to set before them. And the two fish, he divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled and they took up 12 baskets full of fragments and of the fish. Now, those who had eaten the loaves were about 5,000 men. Jesus takes what they have five loaves,

two fish. And what does he do with it? He prays, they saw what they could do and had always done. And he looked at the problem and said, what can God do? It is the difference between Abraham, Moses and the disciples at this time, when the people begin to complain because they have no water and they’re going as they describe it,

going to die of thirst in this wilderness, does Moses say, well, where’s the nearest stream? Where’s the nearest river. Where’s the nearest freshwater source. No. Does he say, I’m sorry, but I I’m just doing what God says. You’re out of luck. No, what’d he do. He goes to God and says, the people need water.

And from a rock, God provides not enough water for them to all have sip, not enough water so that each person, or maybe the elderly can get some but enough water for them to quench the thirst and provide for all of the old people. All of the middle-aged people, all the young people, all the flocks, all the herds, all everybody.

And where did it come from? Oh, it came from this underground Fisher where Moses happened to find out there was water had been there water all the time. No. Is there water there today? Nope. It wasn’t an underground Fisher. It was God providing water in the wilderness here. Jesus prays. And God gives them what they need because God can.

And man can’t. So then they all eat. The number of the men was about 5,000. So there’s probably more than just men present. Therefore, the number’s probably more than that. Verse 45 immediately. He made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side to best say it. Now he instructs them. He tells them,

you go do this. You go without me a while. He sent the multitude away. And when he had sent them away, he departed to the mountain to pray. Now, when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone on the land. Then he saw them straining at rowing for the wind was against them.

Now about the fourth watch of the night, he came to them, walking on the sea. And here’s an interesting tidbit. Martin gives us nobody else does and would have asked them by Mark’s the only one who tells us that Jesus was walking past them. When they observe him going by, Jesus would have beat them to the other side. Jesus would have walked on by because they were fine.

They were struggling. They were rolling, but Mark’s the only one that tells us. Jesus sent them on a head and Jesus was going to get there for, they did. When they saw him walking verse 49 on the sea, they supposed, it was a ghost and cried out for, they all saw him and were troubled, but immediately he talked with them and said to them,

be of good cheer. It is. I do not be afraid. They’re rowing it’s rough seas, winds blowing. It’s nighttime. Oh, they see the figure of a person walking on the sea and they don’t know what to think until they hear voice. And I’m going to just, sermonize here for a moment and say, sometimes we see things based upon our knowledge and our understanding.

All we can see is what we understand it to be. And if we would just stop and listen to God instead, I don’t mean listen to a still small voice in the night. I mean, pick up God’s word and go. What’s really true. We would get out of all the fantastical dreams and assumptions of humanity and get back into what really matters.

And that’s what God actually says. So Jesus says it is, I be of good cheer, do not be afraid. Then he went up into the boat to them and the wind ceased, and they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure and marveled for, they had not understood about the lows because their heart was hardened. What do you think? Hardened their heart.

I’ve got my own assumption. I think it was their attitude towards the things they had done while they were out preaching. You remember how many times the disciples would argue about who would be the greatest in the kingdom? How many times there would be disputes over position and prominence and power. And when they would come back from being sent out, they would tell Jesus about all the things that they did.

All the wonders they performed and Jesus would tell them what matters most is, is your name written in the King, in the book of life? Is your name written in the kingdom of God? I think their own success caused them to fail, to understand what Jesus did with the loaves. Oh, they had no doubt. It was a miracle. They knew what he had done in the physical sense,

but they missed the spiritual Jesus in John chapter six would begin preaching what I am the bread of life. And at the end of John chapter six, what would the multitude do? They depart with him and follow him no more. They would say these are hard sayings who can bear them. And Jesus would then turn to the disciples and say, will you go also Peter would reply Lord to whom should we go?

You have the words of life. They’ll get there. But at the moment in the boat at night, not there yet verse 53 through verse 56, when they had crossed over, they came to the land of Ganesha and anchored there. When they came out of the boat immediately, the people recognized him, ran through that whole surrounding region and began to carry about on beds.

Those who were sick to when, to wherever they heard, he was wherever he entered into villages, cities, and or the country. They laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might just touch the hem of his garment. And as many as touched him were made well, all right, we’re out of time for this morning, we will pick up with the questions Wednesday night.

Thank you for your attention.<inaudible><inaudible> Good morning. Welcome to the Collierville church. Christ’s Sunday morning worship service. It’s good to see each and every one of those of you that were able to make it out on this great snowy morning that the Lord gave us. And for those of you that decided not to venture out this morning, it’s great that we have the technology that you are able to participate with us in worshiping our Lord through modern technology.

If you did not pick up your Lord supper on the way in, please take the opportunity while I’m going through the announcements here to go to the tables in the back and pick that up. I do not see any visitors, but if I’m overlooking any visitors, glad that you chose to worship with us this morning. Other announcements, please continue to remember in your prayers are sick.

Ed Richardson, Barbara Dillard, Joan Springer, Donnie Flanagan, and Dorothy Wilson, Janie, Marlin, and update on her. She is at home, but she is basically back to where she started before her last hospital stay with her AFib problems again. So please continue to pray for Janie Marlin and Rudel. Wilson has a slight blockage. And right now the, the plan with that for him is just to keep an eye on it and monitor it to see if they’re going to need to go in and do anything with that slight blockage that they have found in Rudolf.

So please continue to pray for Rudel. Also continue to, to remember in your prayers and your thoughts, the simply through for the loss of loved ones recently for the Cozort family, the Sanderson’s and the stacks, the men’s business meeting that was scheduled for tomorrow, due to the weather forecast, we are going to cancel that meeting. And unless there’s something that absolutely has to be discussed,

the men who have decided will just not have a business meeting until the month of March. But if there is something that needs to be addressed, feel free to please bring it to one of the men of the congregation here. And we, men will get together one Sunday real quick after church and discuss what your concerns are. So we can act on it.

If there is something that has to be decided upon at this time, Potter’s children home. As far as we know right now, they plan on coming down Thursday. But there again, that is subject to the weather. So they might be here Thursday to pick up the commodities and they might not. But at any rate, if you have other things that you want them to get,

please get it here before Thursday, because they may show up Thursday to pick that stuff up. That was all the announcements I have this morning. Worship service song leader will be Michael Dale opening. Prayer Will be no Olson. Lord supper will be Jay Shafir. The sermon is going to be Aaron Cozort and the closing prayer will be Joe caisson. Thank you.

Our first song this morning, we’ll be number 47. Holy Holy, Holy number 47. Holy, Holy, Holy<inaudible><inaudible> to the Holy. Holy Holy<inaudible>. Holy, Holy Holy.<inaudible> the casting down their golden crowns crest or C<inaudible> falling down.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Oh, the Holy<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible>. Holy, Holy<inaudible><inaudible> name and then sky and see,

Holy, Holy Holy<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> song. Before our opening prayer will be For 790 Lord take control seven, nine zero. My<inaudible> my body.<inaudible> give it to you to<inaudible><inaudible> my buddy.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> You pray with me or heavenly father. We come to you now, once again, so thankful for a day that you’ve given this father a day that we can come to worship you.

We pray that everything is done in accordance with your will and in spirit and in truth. How do we ask for forgiveness of sins? Every time that we do come back to repentance father, we pray that we can look faithfully and you father, we pray for all those on the prayer list, those suffering physically, that they could get back to their natural state of health,

but also those that are spiritually lost, that they could come back to you through your word for it is eternally too late. And we pray that we as Christians can help them along along that path. Father, we love you. And we thank you so much for your son and his sacrifice. We pray all these things in his, in his name,

amen. Song to prepare minds for the Lord’s Supper will be number 315. When I survey the wondrous cross, when I say<inaudible><inaudible> Oh, no, which<inaudible> Oh, sorry. Ah, ma<inaudible> I can’t<inaudible><inaudible> ah, Oh, ah, ah, for<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Oh,<inaudible> that?<inaudible> me.<inaudible> a nice,

gref a nice to, Hey, is see from<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and<inaudible><inaudible> and<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> ah, nah<inaudible> Oh, too small.<inaudible><inaudible> de<inaudible> ah, ah, Oh, Jesus. On the night before he was arrested and tried met with his disciples in the upper room. And during that supper, he instituted this Lord’s supper so that we could remember his death until he comes.

So let’s displace all of the worldly thoughts from our mind for a period of time here and dwell upon Jesus is suffering and death, heavenly father. We’re so very grateful that your son was willing to come to this earth to sacrifice his body and his blood for the forgiveness of our sins. As we partake of this bread, which represents that body that was sacrificed on the cross,

help us to do so, you know, worthy manner. So in Jesus’ name that we pray amen. As we continue this Memorial heavenly father, we’re so very grateful that he was willing to shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins. As we partake of this fruit of the vine blesses each, with being able to partake in a worthy manner, it’s in Jesus name that we pray,

amen. We find this a convenient time to lay by and store. As we have been prospered. Once again, let’s go to our heavenly father in prayer And my father. We’re so very grateful for the multitude of blessings. You so richly bestow upon each of us, help us always to remember that we’re merely stewards of these blessings, that all things truly come from you grant us a cheerful heart.

As we return a portion of those blessings, where your cause here in spreading your word throughout this community. We ask this in Jesus name, amen Song before the lesson will be wonderful words of life. Number five, Andrade forty-three wonderful words of life. If you’re able, let’s stand for this song, please sing them over again. To me. Wonderful words of<inaudible> led me more of their beauty.

You see? Wonderful.<inaudible> beautiful, wonderful words, wonderful words.<inaudible> beautiful. Wonderful, wonderful.<inaudible> wonderful words.<inaudible> beautiful words. Wonderful words. Wonderful words.<inaudible> beautiful words. Wonder<inaudible> offer. Pardon and peace. To all wonder<inaudible> jeez,<inaudible> beautiful. Wonderful words. One, a four words.<inaudible> wonder four words.<inaudible> you may be seated.

Good morning Just by way of public service announcement. Is there probably some who do not know, because we probably haven’t talked about it recently, but if you have a smartphone, either Android or iOS or Apple, you can go into the app store and do a search for truth.fm. And in there you can find the truth.fm app. And I only bring that up because Collierville has a internet radio station.

We broadcast 24 hours a day. It is there. It is available for you to listen to, but we are making some changes and we are actually going to begin using a computer back here. We’ve been live streaming our services on that stream for quite some time now as just another way where people can pull up their phones and, and hear our worship services.

In addition to all the other programming that’s on there, but we’re going to be able to have more control and implement a lot more of our lessons, our Bible classes, and such as recorded content that will be available for people as the day goes on. And so that’s something we’re looking forward to and implementing a, and if you don’t mind find Collierville Christian radio there on the truth FM app and listen to it.

And if you hear That doesn’t sound right in the sense of technologically, does it sound right or it doesn’t work or you click play and it doesn’t play call me because with new systems, whenever you put new systems in, there’s always bugs. And so if you can help me by monitoring that, I appreciate it just in your own time and the lessons there and the things that you will hear will be worth your time.

Anyway, take your Bibles if you will, and open them to the book of Hebrews, the Hebrew writer, as he is writing to these Jewish Christians, warning them about falling away, warning them about drifting away, warning them about turning away. He tells them about Jesus. He tells them about how Jesus is better than where they came from better than Moses.

And in Hebrews chapter three, he says, therefore, Holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling consider the apostle and high priest of our confession Christ. Jesus, who was notice this word faithful to him who appointed him as Moses also was faithful in all his house. The Hebrew writer identifies for these Christians that a singular attribute of Jesus Christ is his faithfulness,

but that’s not our discussion for this morning. Instead, it’s the latter half of the verse that I want us to focus on. I mentioned in the first Sunday in January, that we were going to take this entire year and one Sunday a month. And hopefully most months it’s going to be the first Sunday of the month. That just didn’t work out this month,

but we’re going to take one Sunday a month, one sermon per month. And we’re going to notice this idea of what God expects when he describes his servants as being faithful. We noticed in January God’s definition of a faithful man, and we noticed that predominantly from the old Testament, we’re continuing that this morning with one primary example, that God looks at this man in a specific time in a specific situation and says,

this man was faithful, Is faithful in all my house. Let’s go on to the remainder of the text. Verse three for this one has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses. That is Christ Jesus counting of more glory than Moses it as much as he who built the house has more honor than the house for every house is built by someone, but he who built all things.

God and Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant. The, his, by the way, here, it’s not as easily identified as it will be in the original text, but that is that his, there is God’s house. Moses wasn’t faithful in his own house. That’s not under discussion here. The discussion is Moses was faithful in God’s house As a servant for a Testimony of those things,

which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a son over his own house, whose house we are, if we hold fast, the confidence and rejoicing of hope from to the end, the Hebrew writer identifies for these individuals a comparison, and yet a contrast, a comparison of Jesus to Moses. Moses described as faithful in God’s house. Jesus described as faithful over his own house,

but the Hebrew writer doesn’t leave it ambiguous as to what he’s talking about. He says, Jesus Christ is faithful over his own house, who we are. He’s not talking about some, some mansion on a Hill. He’s not talking about some estate where Jesus sits as steward or head of this estate. And this tells all these servants where to go and how to cut the grass and what the trees are to look like and how to keep everything clean.

No, The House of Jesus Christ is his Church over which he is head. He alone is head of his church. The body of Christ, the church of Christ. He says, we are his house is we hold fast. The confidence and the rejoicing of hope from to the end. What is he saying there? He’s saying if we too will be Faithful as he is faithful,

as Moses was faithful. So what we’re going Do is we’re going to go back to the original text, which is numbers chapter 12. When the Hebrew writer says Moses was faithful in all his house, he is not just conjuring that up. He’s not even just extrapolating that out of the history of Moses. That is a direct quotation from numbers chapter 12.

And so our time this morning will be spent here in this text, noticing Moses, a faithful man in view of God’s definition of what a faithful man is, numbers chapter 12. And in verse one, we find disagreement going on. The background of this is that Moses has married a woman. Now keep in mind. Moses at this time is probably around 80 plus years old.

We know he’s 80 plus years old. How much plus that is, we don’t know exactly, but Moses marries a woman. Is this a second wife? Or did his wife die? We don’t know. The text seems to indicate that his wife died, that he has is now marrying another wife after his wife has passed away. But some of that is his surmising.

Some of that is, is implication here, but he marries a woman. The problem was not that he married a woman. The problem was, as we see in verse one that he married any Thiel, Bian woman. Notice what the text says, chapter 12, verse one, then Merriam and Aaron, for those who may or may not know that his Moses’s older sister a and Moses’s older brother Mo Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married for.

He had married an Ethiopian woman here. We have Merriam and Erin who generally are on Moses’s side, generally are in agreement with Moses. Sometimes it was Moses and Aaron standing all by themselves against all the men of the people. But in this occasion, Merriam and Aaron, see what Moses did in marrying this Ethiopian woman. And they are upset. Couple of things to know,

first and foremost, the first wife that we know of of Moses was not an Israel. She was a descendant of Abraham for, she was Midianite and the Midianites were the descendants of Abraham through Midian. One of the sons of guitarra, but she wasn’t an Israelite. And that’s seems to be the rub here. And I think if we were honest, we might go and look at the law and we might be rubbed the same way Miriam and Aaron were rubbed.

They’re not happy because he’s married a woman from Ethiopia. And yet, if you turn to Exodus, chapter 34, God has said to Israel that they needed to marry within those who were Israelites turned next. There’s 34. Let’s look at a few of these passages here, Exodus 34 beginning in verse 11, God says to Israel, observe what I command you this day.

Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite the Canaanite the Hittite, the parasite, the Hivite and the JB site take heed to yourself. Lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, where you are going less. It’d be a snare in your midst, but you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars and cut down their wooden images for you shall worship no other God for the Lord,

whose name is jealous is a jealous God lets you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land. And they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifices with their God on. And one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice and you take notice his daughters for your sons and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.

You shall make no molded gods for yourselves. God says, do not make a covenant with these people. The Hittites, the parasites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the JV sites, the Hivites. He says you don’t make a covenant with them and you don’t marry their daughters or give their daughters to your sons because they’ll draw away your heart after idolatry.

But where in the list are Ethiopians while they’re not in the list, but the principle, maybe we’ll we’ll just go with the principle is true. But one note I want to make, as we go through this, what was true about Moses’s wife? Who was a Midianite one of the things that we know to be true is that her family worshiped the Lord.

How do we know that? Well, when Moses departs out of Egypt and Moses comes into contact with Ruelle. When Moses comes into contact with the man who will become his father-in-law, we are finding in that text, he is identified as priest of the most high God. This man though, a Midianite is a priest of the Lord. Now he’s not from the tribe of Levi.

He’s not from the house of Aaron, but Aaron’s not a priest yet. Under the patriarchal age, it was the fathers who served as the heads of the household. As the priests of God, not a specific, TRIBE not as specific lineage, but there were those who we have identify like male kids, a deck before him in the days of Abraham.

And Ruelle in this day in time who are described as priests. So we know that Moses, his first wife knows who Jehovah is and worships Jehovah. We know nothing about this wife except she’s Ethiopian. But if we know Moses, what would you surmise? Do you think Moses went out and said, you know what, not Marian is any of these Israelites.

And there might’ve been good reason for that, by the way. But what do you think would have happened to the family of the woman who Moses Mary, they were saying, Oh, we’re now family of the leader. We’re now family and the man in charge. It w w w we’re we got, we have special rank. Maybe that was part of the thinking of Moses.

I don’t know, but Moses as one, who’s a servant of God by all indications is not going to marry someone who isn’t the argument isn’t this woman is idolatrous. The argument is this woman’s Ethiopian, but then consider as well, maybe part of something else. Deuteronomy chapter seven, Deuteronomy chapter seven. I should make note of the fact that this statement comes later after these events.

Ju just for context, just for clarity, but it’s a rehashing of what God had already given in the law. It’s the second giving of the law. But chapter seven of Deuteronomy, verse one, when the Lord, your God brings you into the land, which you go to possess and cast out many nations before you, the Hittites, the Gerber science,

they Amorites the Canaanites and the parasites and the Hivites and the Jebusites seven nations greater and mightier than you. And when the Lord, your God delivers them over from over you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them, nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son nor take their daughter for your son for,

they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods. So the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly, But Thus, you shall deal with them. You shall destroy their altars, break down their sacred pillars, cut down their wooden images and burn their carved images with fire for you. Holy people, God tells Israel,

you are unique, but most Miriam and Aaron seem Moses and his decision and they think Moses chose wrong. One other thing that may be a part of this may come from errands side of things and Leviticus chapter 21, Leviticus chapter 21, The laws concerning the priests and their marriages Are actually Different than the laws for the rest Of Israel, Leviticus Chapter 21 beginning in verse 10,

we read he who is the high priest among his brethren on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments shall not cover his head nor tear his clothes nor shall go, nor shall he go near any dead body nor defile himself with his father or his mother, nor shall he go out of the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him.

I am the Lord and he shall take a wife in her virginity, a widow or a divorced woman, or a defiled woman, or a harlot. These, he shall not marry, but he shall take a Virgin of his own people. As a wife, God, God put a whole different set of laws on the high priest. Then he even did the rest of the piece Bull and who’s high priest.

Aaron is So Moses declares from God chapter 21 verse one. And the Lord said to Moses, speak to the priests. Moses declares from God, Aaron, you have to marry from the descendants of Israel and you can’t marry a widow and you have to marry a Virgin and all of these other things. And Moses goes and marries And Ethiopian, but Moses wasn’t high priest.

So all of the, These things come to a head in numbers, chapter 12 and Merriam and yeah, Aaron spake against Moses. But in verse two, they said, Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses, has he not spoken through us also as they’re murmuring and complaining against Moses, which all Israel was forward to do. They, they, they loved complaining against Moses,

but usually his own family at least was on his side. Now Merriam and Aaron start in and they’re murmuring against Moses and speaking against Moses. And they’re saying, hasn’t the Lord spoken to us. You remember Marianne was one who spoke on behalf of the Lord at different times. She proclaimed the word of the Lord at different times. Aaron spoke on behalf of the Lord.

He was even the mouthpiece of Moses. It hasn’t the Lord spoken through us. But that statement there at the end of verse two and the Lord heard it, It wasn’t as though the Lord happened to be passing by the tent where they were at the time and happened over here through those thin 10 walls. What they said, no, just a little reminder in scripture,

you don’t say anything. The Lord doesn’t he Here. And we might be, He reminded from Jesus’s encounters with the scribes and the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the lawyers. You don’t even think anything. The Lord doesn’t it. But they said it and the Lord heard it. And then we have a paranthetically statement. One of those times where God drops in his testimony about someone.

And yet it’s interesting because who’s right, Egging it. Moses is mother. Moses is the one who’s writing the book of numbers. And yet it is a statement by God about Moses Verse three. Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who are on the face of the earth. Now the King James uses the Term meek. Moses was a man who was meek.

And here’s where I want us to get Our first lesson from Moses about faithfulness. Number one, One, Moses was faithful In position or Stated another way. Moses was faithful in Self. When it came to God, God, God describes Moses as one, who was the meekest in all the earth. If you were to be standing here and you were to say,

you know what? I’ve evaluated this friend of mine and, and I’ve weighed his abilities and I’ve weighed his, his ability to function. And I believe he is the most talented at fill in the blank of anybody In the world. Here’s one thing I know. If that gets spread far enough around, there’s going to be a herd of people in line to prove you wrong.

Every Time the Olympics roll around, what are we all sitting around watching, waiting to happen. Another world record to be broken. And it happens. We think that’s the fastest that race is ever going to be run. And then somebody proves This wrong. Michael, Jordan’s the best basketball player to have ever lived until somebody becomes better than him. The fact Of the matter is anytime we lay a test against what we know,

the limits of our knowledge are the standards of the team Fast, but God is different. God, God looks at literally every person alive and Says, Moses is the meekest man in all the earth. That’s quite a testimony. That’s quite a statement. Meekness is Strength under control. Humbleness Is a lowering of self. Not in fear, not in doubt,

but in recognition of Who is greater. Moses is described as, and who is meek. He has himself under control. Now he’s not perfect. We’ll get into that in a moment. But he is meek. He is controlling himself. Moses will know that Miriam and Aaron said this And Moses, his reaction Then was to do nothing. Not in the sense that Moses said,

you know what? I’m just going to let it slip as siblings. They’ll they’ll say things and no Moses chose not to defend Himself. Moses Chose not to defend his reputation. Moses chose not to defend his position. Moses chose to Act as a servant. Here’s one of the things about a servant. A servant recognizes as the very nature of the servant,

that he is, that there is someone greater than him that has given him His position. Serving doesn’t earn his position. He wouldn’t be a servant. If he earned his position, Servant is given his position by A master, by Whoever his master is. And Moses is here in the position of the one who speaks on behalf of God. And he wasn’t the one who put himself there.

As a matter of fact, Moses tried multiple times to get out of the position And yet God put him there. And Moses reaction to me, Barium and Aaron speaking against him is too Say nothing. He’s not going to defend his position or his right to speak on behalf of God. God is good. Moses is going to be humble and meek in recognizing his position.

In other words, Words, Moses did not insists On self Moses Did not emphasize Self. He emphasized service. But secondly, we see that God is going to confront Miriam and Aaron versus five, Five. Suddenly the Lord said to Mary, to Moses, Aaron and Miriam. So God speaks to all three of them And stood calm out. He’s is you three,

two Tabernacle of meeting. So the three came out. Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. God hears what Miriam and Aaron have said, God calls Moses, Aaron and Merriam to the tabernacle, the pillar of cloud descends upon the tabernacle as it would do during the daytime.

You remember at this point in time, when the pillar of cloud moved during the day, the whole host of Israel would gather their things up and they’d move and they’d follow the cloud by day. And the pillar of fire by night, this cloud comes descends over the tabernacle and God’s presence is there. They are, God begins to speak to Aaron and Miriam.

And we read in verse six. Then he, the Lord said, hear, now my words, if there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord make myself known to him in a vision. He says, if there’s somebody, because remember they said, has the Lord not spoken through us? Has the Lord not spoken to us? Why is it Moses?

The one who’s the mouthpiece of God. And God says, if I speak to a prophet, if I give him a vision or I speak to him in a dream, not so with my servant, Moses, God puts a separation between Moses and every prophet. Every person he spoke to, they said, Moses is just like us. God says, no worries.

He’s not. And I don’t treat him like I treat the rest of you. No, As he said not. So with my servant, Moses, he is faithful All my house. I speak with him face to face, even plainly and not in dark sayings. And he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my son,

Servant, Moses, God confronts aerium and Merriam, Aaron and Miriam. And he says, You think I speak to you? Like I speak to him, Him, but I don’t. You might hear my voice. You might see a vision, but which one of you sees me? Face-to-face do you remember when Moses went on the mountain God’s presence was there on Mount Sinai and all the people heard the voice of the Lord and all the people were afraid.

And all the people told Moses, you go up on the mountain and you hear what the Lord has to say. And then you come down and tell us all. While Moses is on the mountain, Aaron is down building the golden gate Staff While Moses is on the mountain, passes in front of Moses. And Moses sees a manifestation of the presence. God Mariam didn’t see it.

Aaron. Didn’t see, God said, my relationship with Moses is not like mine. A relationship with you. We also see in verses six through eight, this second Lesson about Moses as God, God declares Moses to be faithful in all his house. He declares him faithful. Aren’t just in position, But in message. He says, I speak with him.

Face-to-face even plainly and not in dark sayings. And he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak about against my servant? Moses, God leaves here. The implication, do you not think I know what’s going on as if to say, do you nothing? Moses talked to me first before he married, married, Ethiopian his relationship.

Isn’t like my relationship with you. We speak base. Gone says that Moses was faithful in his house. And he was faithful with his message. Everything that Moses said to the children Of Israel from the mouth of the Lord Was what the Lord told him to say, Moses, They didn’t hold out his little instruction where God said, now, Moses don’t you marry anyone.

Who’s not an Israelite. Moses didn’t hold that in his back pocket. Why not tell the people he was faithful in message. He was faithful in position, but it is important to note as we apply this lesson, that faithful is not the same as perfect. Moses was faithful. And yet Just one chapter over in chapter 11 in the midst of the people complaining about not having meat and not having the things that they had in the days of,

of Egypt that Moses heard the people verse 10 weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent and the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused. Moses also was displeased. So Moses said to the Lord, why have you afflicted your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight that you have laid the burden of all these people on me?

Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them? That you should say to me, carry them in your bosom. As a guardian carries a nursing child to the land, which you swore to their fathers, where am I going to get meat to give to all these people for they weep all over me saying, give us meat that We may eat.

I am Not able to bear all these people alone because the burden is too heavy for me. If you treat me like this, please kill me here. And now If I have found favor In your sight and do not, let me See my wretchedness there And who God describes as the meekest in all the earth, the man who God describes as faithful in all his house is not perfect.

Perfect. We can think of another time in numbers, chapter 20, just a few chapters over the considerably, separated in time where Israel wants water a second time, and God tells you go speak to the rock and water will fourth. And instead of going and speaking to the rock, Moses lifts himself up and smites the rock like he did the first time and water still comes out.

But God says, because of this, you will not enter the promised land, faithful, but not perfect. And perfection isn’t required for faithfulness, but faithfulness is required for salvation. But thirdly, I guess it’s fourthly officially or less than we see is in numbers. Chapter 12, Moses is faithful toward those who sought him harm in chapter 12, verse nine,

the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, Merriam and Aaron and he departed. And when the cloud departed from the above, the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Merriam and there she was a leper. And we know the laws concerning what Israel was told. When it came to one who had leprosy, they were to be cast out.

They weren’t to be among the people. They couldn’t come amongst the people. If anyone came near them, they had to cover themselves and cry out that they were a leper. They could not associated in any way, shape or form with the children of Israel. They couldn’t come in the tabernacle. They couldn’t come to worship. They couldn’t do any of those things.

They were leprous. Aaron turns toward Merriam and she has become a leper. The indication is from head to toe. She is covered in leprosy. So Aaron said to Moses, verse 11, Oh my Lord. Please do not lay this sin on us in which we have done foolishly. And in which we have sinned, he readily admits we’ve done wrong.

We’ve been foolish, we’ve sinned, but he wants the consequences removed. He says, verse 12, please do not let her be as one dead. Whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb. So Moses cried out unto the Lord saying, please heal her. Oh God, I pray. Wait a minute. Wasn’t it Moses that she was speaking against.

Wasn’t it Moses that Merriam and Aaron were saying he doesn’t deserve the position he’s got. Yes. And yet it is Moses who pleads with God on her behalf. Then the Lord said, verse 14 to Moses. If her father had buss spit in her face, would she not be shamed? Even seven days, let her be shut out of the camp seven days and afterwards she may be received again.

So Mariam was shut out of the camp seven days and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in. Again, God uses an analogy from the ceremonial unclean laws. If her father had sneezed on her, she would have been ceremonially unclean for a period of time, as it offensive as it could possibly be just something occurring in daily life. God says there still would have been consequences for that.

For this. She can have the thing. Moses was faithful toward those who sought to do him harm. Jesus would tell his disciples, Matthew chapter five, he would tell them beginning in verse 38 of that sermon on the Mount, you have heard that it was said, and I four and I, and a tooth for tooth. But I tell you not to resist an evil person,

but whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him. Also, what did Moses do when they spoke against him? Nothing. Just the same way Jesus taught. If anyone wants to Sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him to give to him who asked you and from him who wants to borrow from you,

do not turn away. You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you love your enemies. Bless those who curse. You do good to those who hate you. Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your father in heaven for. He makes his son rise on the evil and on the goods sends rain on the Justin on the unjust for if you love those who love you,

what reward have you do? Not even the tax collectors do the same. And if you greet your brethren only what do you more than the than others, if do not even the tax collectors do so, therefore you shall be perfect just as your father in heaven is perfect. Jesus describes perfection in the sense of completeness and Maturity, as One who will be like God,

even when those around him use his very actions as a reason to accuse him, Moses, a faithful man in position in self, a faithful man, in message in God’s house and of faith, Full man towards even those who sought to do him Harm. And the Hebrew writer says, that’s a faithful man. We need to be like Moses. We need to be faithful in God’s house.

We need Be faithful in pudding ourself Second before God, not first, but Always in everything behind Our master. We need to be faithful and not seeking our own, but seeking what belongs to the Lord. We need to always be faithful in declaring the message of God. And we need to remember when we are mistreated, when we are done wrong. When we are persecuted,

when we are spoken against, when we, We are acute, that it is Our time not to defend ourselves, not to argue our own position, not to return as it has been done to us, but to, To do good to those that would do evil to us. If that’s a description of faithfulness, then that’s what we are to be Outside the body of Christ.

You are outside of the house of God. You are outside of the place where Christ is head. You are outside of the place where his faithfulness has influence on your feet, Eternal destiny. And I beg you don’t stay there because As, as Moses was faithful in bringing the children of Israel to the promised land so that they might receive their reward, no one got to go in that God didn’t say was allowed to go in.

And that includes Do Moses God Put stipulations on entrance to His promised rest. And he still does. Part of his stipulation is how you become part of that house. You enter into that house by hearing the word of God and believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God. Without it is impossible To please him. Hebrews 11 says, but you also have to repent of your sins.

You have to confess the name of Christ and be immersed in water for the remission of those sins. Being born, a child of God, dying to all the old self, dying to sin, rising to walk in newness of life and then living faithful unto death revelation chapter two, verse 10. If you’re here this morning and your life, isn’t faithful.

Why not return it to faithfulness today? You have need of the invitation. Why not come forward now? As we stand in, as we say<inaudible> things, I don’t know, blah, the<inaudible> Hey son to him. Hey son. So Gladden free. Jeez, us great. As, yes. Well come to the, I am resolved to go to the save the being my<inaudible>.

He is the true one. He is the Jost one. He had<inaudible> Hey son to him. Hey son. So Gladden free. Jeez us great. Yes. Yes. Well come to the resolve to follow the savior.<inaudible> he? Well, he<inaudible>. Hey<inaudible> Hey son to him. Hey son. So Gladden free. Jeez. Yes.

Well come to the resolve to and the King Dom, the being the pass up saying, Hey, friends may oppose me if others may be sad me<inaudible> ah, Hey son to him. Hey son. So glad free. Jeez, us great. Ah, yes. Well come to the sea So long before our closing prayer will be number 704, bind us together.

Excuse me.<inaudible> the Lord bind us together with cords. NA can be bro. Bind us together. Lord bind us.<inaudible> bind us together with<inaudible>.<inaudible> the one key<inaudible><inaudible> is only one, buddy. Nah, that is why we can see bind us together. The Lord bind a stinger. The width<inaudible> NA can be<inaudible> bind us together.

Lord bind us together or bind us together with There. God, our father in heaven, we truly are grateful for the privilege that we’ve had to come here today to study from your word and be enlightened by those things that you have given to us to help make our lives right with you to help us be more productive citizens in the kingdom, and to be able to conduct ourselves in a way that you would be pleased with us,

help us father to be more like Moses, that we were meek and gentle, help us to be servants. Dear father, we realize we answer to the, and that we did not answer to others when they want to ridicule us and make fun of us. Father help us to love you with a deeper love, help us to love one another with a greater love that we truly have compassion upon each other and respect and care truly about each other.

With, with a deep love, the same love that you have for us. Father, we’re mindful that we do fail the at times and we pray for, for forgiveness. We pray father that you be with those that were mentioned that are ill or those that are still grieving over loss of loved ones, help us to be of comfort to all of these and have,

and be an encouragement to one another. We pray that we not forget about those that have fallen on a way that we might encourage them to come back and, and be faithful to you. Let us always be about trying to lead others to you through the gospel, strengthen us as we go through life that we live in a way that we might have that home in him with a in Jesus name.

We pray amen.

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02-10-2021 – Live Stream Mark 6:1-29

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Home for one, want to say very much thank you to everyone. Not only your willingness to allow us to, to be gone as much as we have in the last two and a half weeks. But for the time we got to spend with my grandmother, for those who may or may not have heard, she passed away Sunday morning,

about 5:00 AM. And, but the, the time that we were able to spend there was priceless to us, not to mention just that. And the time spent with, with family since then. So we got home about three 30 this afternoon. We’re all really ready to see our own beds. W you know, when your 10 year old says, dad,

I’m really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. That, yeah, but that’s what happens when you spend multiple days in a house with a total of 21 people under the same roof. So, but we, we have, we have very much appreciated the time that we’ve been able to spend with my family and all the care, current concern, prayers,

especially cards. Thank you. They mean a lot. We are in Mark chapter six this evening. Want to add to that another thank you to Michael and to Noah and to everyone else who filled in, in any way, shape or form while I was gone. I appreciate it very much as we’re going through this study of Jesus, we enter into periods of where we get these glimpses of what Jesus has in store for the church when he leaves.

And two of those occasions are when Jesus appoints in one occasion, the 12 to go out into the land of Judah and into the land of the Jews and to teach and preach. And then another occasion is when he sends out the 70 to go again, out into the cities and to teach and to preach. And one of those accounts, we find here,

the account of sending out the 12, but you also see here in this passage, not only the glimpse, looking forward to the time of the church and its evangelists work and its teaching and its ministry, and it’s broadening out and declaring the gospel to the entire world. But you also see the cost of Christianity here in this passage, and this is exhibited or in exemplified in the life of John,

the Baptist, as he will lose his life because of the message he proclaimed. So we’re going to begin in chapter six, verse one. Then he went out from there and came to his own country and his disciples followed him. And when the Sabbath had come, he began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing him were astonished saying, where did this man get these things?

And what wisdom is this, which has given to him that such mighty works are performed by his hands. We read here in verse one that he came to his own country is that Bethlehem Nazareth. Okay. Remember though Christ was born in Bethlehem in the land of Judah. He was not raised in Judah at the time that Jesus was born. We, those events occur.

And yet it seems to be based upon the indication of, of the text that Joseph and Mary were already up in Nazareth at the time that the angel came to them and, and told Mary that she was going to have a child, but that the reason they came to Bethlehem, according to the text was because a tax was declared quite often what you will find being true both in those times.

And even in modern times is people live where they can have enough employment to actually sustain their life. And so that seems to be the reason why Joseph isn’t in Bethlehem, though. That’s where he came from, because that’s where they returned to, to pay taxes. That’s where his inheritance was. That’s where indications are his, his, his ancestors were from,

but he wasn’t there. And the most likely reason is because that was not where they could afford to make a living. So they come to Bethlehem and for some period of time, they stay there. The indication is that Jesus may have been in Bethlehem until he was one or two years old. You, the reasoning, we can kind of think about it that way is remember Herod will in interrogate those wise men that came from the East,

by the way, there’s no indication that the wise men showed up the day Jesus was born. There’s no nothing in the text indicates that the shepherds were there. The day Jesus was born, but the wise men are not described as being there. We know that because Jesus course was laid in a manger after he was born, the shepherds will come to that place.

But when the wise men arrived, they’re not in a manger anymore. They’re in a house. So likelihood is Wiseman shall have at some point after that, yet still in his infancy, they present those gifts Herod in, interrogates them as to where they’re going, because they’re trying to inquire. Where’s the one born King of the Jews. And Herod tells them when you find them,

you send word back to me so that I can come and worship him as well. And yet God will warn them to go back a different direction, to not tell Herod. And then Herod will send out his orders and he will send out those orders to kill who all the babies, two years old and down. Okay. So that gives you the window of,

of time. The, the range of time that they could have been in Bethlehem is up to two years. Herod knows enough from his discussions, with the wise men, from the East and from the other things that he knows that window, if that child’s there, that window’s going to get it. Okay. So God tells Joseph and Mary to leave,

to flee, and they flee down to Egypt and they remain there until what, until Herod dies. Then when Herod dies, they returned from Egypt. By the way, at the same time, fulfilling prophecy of Habakkuk, chapter 11 or sorry, Hosea chapter 11, I will call my son out of Egypt. We’re told there in the text, but they come back.

But when they come back, they don’t go to Bethlehem. Where do they go? They go to Nazareth and it is there that Jesus will grow up. Now, where is Nazareth? Okay. All right. It is in the region of Galilee. It is up near the sea of Galilee, but it is in the North part of Israel, not the Southern part where Jerusalem is where Judah is.

It’s in the Northern part. On the other side of that, the vibe that Samarria was you had the Southern part of Judah. You had some area in the middle, you had Galilee in the North and did the Jews in Judah think very favorably and highly of those Jews that lived up in Galilee? No. What did they consider them to be? All right.

We we’ve got Phil. I think if my memory serves me correctly, quoting the proverb can anything good come out of Nazareth. But in general, the Jews in the South considered the Jews in the North to be uneducated. You remember the statement was concerning Jesus’s disciples. Many of whom came from Galilee. How can these men teach these things, seeing their Galileans okay.

They don’t consider them as educated individuals. So all of that brings us to this point in time, where Jesus has gone down into Jerusalem, he has preached there and taught there. And these events that we’ve been studying have occurred there. The sermon on the Mount occurred there, all these things happened down there. And then he comes home. He returns back to the Northern part of the land and he comes to Nazareth.

And when he came to his own country and his disciples followed him on the Sabbath day, he goes into the synagogue. And now that he is of age, there was a certain age. You had to be not. You, you had to be older than 18. As a matter of fact, I think it was 30. You had to be 30 before you were allowed to speak in the synagogue.

Otherwise you just sit down and be quiet. You’re too young. You don’t know anything yet. Okay. So he’s beyond that age. He’s beyond that point, he gets up to speak in the synagogue and he begins to teach them the indication is he not only teaches them, but tells them concerning the deeds that he is done in Judah. Okay? When he’s in the Southern part of Israel.

So they say, where did this man get these things? And what wisdom is this, which is given to him that such mighty works are performed by his hands. But they follow that up with, is this not the carpenter? The son of Mary, the brother of James, Joseph Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us. So they were offended at him.

Nazareth is not this large metropolitan city. Nazareth is not Jerusalem. Nazareth is not this large place. Nazareth would be like a coming to a small rural town in America where you walk in to the local barber shop and you haven’t been there for seven years and they greet you by name. Why? Because you grew up there. They that Barbara who set or stood behind that,

chair’s cut your hair. Since you were four, they don’t have to wonder who you are. They know who you are. When Jesus walks into the synagogue. When he stands up in the synagogue, nobody’s wondering who he is. They know who he is. They’ve known him his entire life. They probably heard that he went down to Jerusalem when he was 12 and his parents started coming back and God,

three days journey back and realized they didn’t have their kid with them. They remember that story most likely, but what don’t they know about him? Okay? They don’t know that he’s the son of God. Who do they describe him as carpenter’s son, the son of Mary. There, some indication perhaps this, this may be a little too much surmising,

but there’s, there’s a, there’s enough indication of the whole record to indicate that at some point in time, Joseph’s not mentioned anymore. Mary’s mentioned Mary’s present. Mary’s talked about from, from the time that Jesus began his ministry. You remember he was there at that dinner, in that wedding feast and Cain of Galilee and, and Mary is there, but Joseph’s never mentioned after his childhood likelihood is just surmising possibilities from the text is Joseph’s not alive anymore.

Some for some reason, no idea what his stepfather, as some might say is no longer present. He’s no longer alive. He’s referred to as the carpenter son, but he’s referred to as the son of Mary. So Joseph is known. Mary is known, but they don’t just know his parents. They also know who all of his siblings, all of his brothers and his sisters,

it could be, but it would seem odd in view of the texts where it stated that his brothers and his mother come to him in the texts like this, where Joseph is not, there’s no indication. Joseph is present. There’s, there’s a distinct absence and a noted absence that Mary’s always present. And Joseph isn’t, his brothers are present his brothers,

speak to him, but Joseph doesn’t. So there’s, there’s just, there’s enough there to indicate and is consistent all the way through all of the different gospels. And when you find the time after his resurrection, who believes in him after his resurrection, his brothers do pay after his resurrection, his brothers believe after his resurrection, Mary’s there, but still no mention of Joseph.

Still no indication Joseph is around for any of this. Okay? Sure. And that’s a completely valid point is, is it would not have been unusual for the husband to have been considerably older than the wife, simply because of the financial means necessary to provide for a family at this point in time. So we, we do see instances and occasions of that.

And that is also a possibility. So could just be, he’s not around because of natural, old age, verse four. But Jesus said to them, a prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, among his own relatives. And in his own house, we think Jesus means by this. Okay? Imagine you watch a young boy go from being a boy,

to being a teenager, to becoming an adult. And he’s just another kid. And imagine you observe this individual’s life day in, day out, year in, year out, every week, you see them at the synagogue. And then he goes on a journey. He starts traveling. And when you come, next thing you hear about him. You don’t hear anything about him,

don’t you don’t don’t don’t have any interaction with him. The next thing you hear is he’s president of the United States a couple of years later, what that kid that’s the, the disbelief you have here, wait, Ooh, we’ve known him, but here’s something else. You get, you get a picture of humanity’s struggle to believe beyond their normal experiences and to understand what is in front of them.

If it’s not consistent with what they’ve always thought, think about it. How many people go through situations and endure difficulties because they saw indications of bad times coming, but they’d always had good times. So they just kept doing what they’d always done. The Egyptians, the Egyptians in the days of Joseph are told, you’re going to have seven years of plenty.

You’re going to have seven years of abundance. And during that time, you need to prepare for seven years of famine. And did the people of Egypt prepare for seven years of family? No, but people did. Joseph did remember that. The Pharaoh said, when we meet a man who’s wise, who will actually make sure we’re ready for that day,

but come time for those people who had just gone through seven years where everything was great, they couldn’t plan enough. They got so much in the harvest that they, they couldn’t reap enough. They got so much in the harvest. They had so much abundance that they were consuming 60% excess. And yet year one, they start having problems. And year two,

they start selling things. And year three, they sell all of their cattle and all their livestock and year four, they sell all of their land and enslave themselves to their King. Is it because they weren’t given enough in years, one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven. That come famine time. They didn’t have enough.

No, it was that they didn’t prepare. And having been told in advance what was coming, their recognition of the blessings they were getting right then made them act as though those blessings were always going to be there. That plenty was going to be there next year when they needed it. But it wasn’t. These people in Nazareth see someone they’ve always seen,

but they can’t look beyond what they’ve always thought to see who he actually is. And so we learn the importance in Nazareth of understanding that we need to pay closer attention to what God tells us in his word than our own opinions, about what we see. Because so often what we see is not what is actually there, what we understand and perceive is not reality.

It’s what we think is reality. And yet this is reality. Have they witnessed his deeds? And they did. They should have believed him if they were truly observing reality, but they weren’t. They were observing and basing their understanding of reality on their opinion. And what they had always thought was true. And that’s dangerous. That’s how nations get overthrown and people scratch their head and go,

Whoa, everything was fine. Just a couple of weeks ago. No, it wasn’t. You just thought it was okay. So verse five, now he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. Then he went about the villages in a circuit teaching these two verses I have have stymied me in the past.

And yet, as I was thinking about limb, it occurred to me all those times. If you remember all those times, Jesus said to individuals, if you believe you will be healed, remember to the man who was lame, who was let down through the roof. He said, if you believe, get up, go th the one who I’m going to get the instance wrong.

And the statement mixed up the one who was blind, I think no, leprose, there were 10 lepers. He tells all of them to go show themselves to the priests yet the one who comes back and thanks him. What does he tell to him? Your faith has made you whole Jesus had the power to do what he wanted to do. Jesus had the power to heal at a word,

anyone who was sick, but he didn’t do that. That wasn’t how it worked. The way it was done was Jesus healed. Those who believed those who had faith, that God would heal them when Jesus is encountered and, and, and met by those who represent this interior in the century and has a servant who’s sick. And Jesus says, I’ll go to him.

And the Centurion says, no, no, no. I have men under me. And when I speak, I send word and they go do what they need to do. You don’t need to come to my house. Just say the word Jesus observed. I have not found such great faith. No, not in Israel. And Jesus says the word and the servants healed.

Faith is always connected to the, that are done. And here you see the opposite side where Jesus marvels, because in Nazareth, a city, a group of people, a synagogue from which the Messiah came, they are the height of unbelief. Do you think they were the height of this obedient and sinful Judaism? This is what I mean. Do you think these people were just rotten to the core?

These people were just, they were, they were adulterous. They were floundering. They, they were thieves. They were murderers. They were no, no, they were Jews. They were Jews who were in the synagogue on the Sabbath day. But they were Jews who believed what they saw and thought more than they believed what God said and Jesus marvels at their unbelief.

But then notice he went about the villages in a circuit teaching verse seven, and he called the 12 to himself and began to send them out two by two and gave them power over unclean spirits. He commanded them to take nothing for the journey, except a staff, no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belt, but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.

Also, he said to them and whatever place you enter a house or whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. What he’s saying is you go into a city and you begin to teach and you’re provided a place. Someone says, come stay with me while you teach in our city, he’s in you don’t leave their house and go to somebody else’s and then go to somebody else’s and then go to somebody else’s you don’t travel and make a circuit around the city.

You go into that house and you stay there for the duration of your time. In that city, you make that house, your dwelling place your, as it were base of operations, your teaching location, okay? And whoever will not receive you nor hear you. When you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet, as a testimony against them.

Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. So the disciples are sent out. The apostles are sent out the 12% out. They’re sent out to go and to teach, but they’re not just sent out to teach. They’re given the ability to perform miracles. They’re given the ability to cast out demons.

They’re given the ability. If we understand what miracles in their function were, they’re given the ability to authenticate themselves. You see the miracles weren’t done just so people could be healed. The miracles weren’t done, just so people could have demons cast out the miracles weren’t done. For that reason, the miracles were done to confirm the message of the person who did the miracle.

If a person came to a city and said, let me teach you something that Moses didn’t teach you, let me teach you something that the prophets didn’t teach you. Let me tell you about someone who you’ve never heard about before. They better have some authority to back it up. And that’s what the miracles did. They provided God’s stamp of approval on the message.

The person taught. Well, if they were to come to a city and they came into the city and they began to teach and they began to perform miracles and the people observed the miracles, but denied the teaching. They said, we know that you’re doing these miracles, but we’re not listening to you. Jesus said, you walk out, you leave.

If you can’t find a house that will host you. If you can’t find someone hospitable enough to see God’s word being taught and say, you come to my house and I will provide you lodging. And I will provide you a place to teach others. He said, you shake the dust off your feet and you go to the next town because that city stands condemned.

Why not? Because they always thought that they knew the truth. Not because they had rejected Moses, but because they had observed the confirmation of the truth through the miracles and denied it, they observe reality in front of them and said, Nope, I won’t believe. Okay. So they went out and preached. And what was their message? Repent. They preached repentance and they cast out many demons and anointed with oil.

Many who were sick and healed them. Now, King Herod heard of him for his name had become well-known. And he said, John, the Baptist is risen from the dead. And therefore these powers are at work in him. We’re going to get, Mark’s going to hear record for us. The backstory, because John, the Baptist and a lot of the other records goes off the scene.

He disappears. He’s he’s not there. What, what happened? Mark provides the backstory because he, and he provides it in a context where here Herod is hearing about everything going on. He’s hearing about Jesus. He’s hearing about his teaching. He’s hearing about his miracles. And now he’s hearing about people going out who are his disciples and teaching and miracles.

And all of this is going on in his region. And he surmises this. He doesn’t know anything about Jesus of Nazareth, who is that? He decides this is John, the Baptist. And he is back from the dead. Not a good situation for Herod because Mark’s going to tell us, Oh, wait a minute. How did John die? What happened?

Well, Mark’s going to tell us what happened. If Paul Harvey were presenting it, it would be right after. And now the rest of the story. Okay? So Herod sees or hears word of what’s going on. He says, these powers are at work in John. Others said it is Alijah. And others said it is the prophet. Of course,

the prophet was a reference to Deuteronomy chapter 18 and Moses telling those who were present of that day, there was going to be one who would be sent like unto me. And you were to listen to him. So thumb said, Elijah, some said the profit others, one of the profits, maybe not, maybe not the one Moses was talking about,

but at least a prophet. But when her Herod heard, he said, this is John whom I be headed. When he, he has been raised from the dead for Herod himself, had sent and laid hold of John and bound him in prison. For the sake of Herodians his brother, Phillip’s wife for he had married her. I don’t think we can quantify the amount of damage that has happened to teachers and preachers of the gospel over the centuries,

who have told people who had no right to be married, that they had no right to be married. I don’t think we can quantify the amount of damage that has been done. But John probably ranks pretty close to the top because what happened was John, the Herod of course, Harrods King he’s he’s granted he’s King set up by Rome, but he’s King.

And John goes to Herod and says, you have no right to have your brother Phillip’s wife. Now we know from history that Philip had divorced her radius and Herod hadn’t married her odious. And yet when John speaks of Herodians John, doesn’t say the woman who used to be your brother Phillip’s wife. He says the woman who is your brother Phillip’s wife. And we’re reminded that Jesus said in Matthew chapter 19,

that what God intended from the beginning was that a man leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife and the Twain shall be one flesh. And what may have, or what God hath joined together. Let not man put us under. John comes to Harriet and says, you can’t have her. She’s not yours. Now, according to the law,

Heron could do whatever he wanted to. According to the law of the land, Herod was married. But according to God, he wasn’t. And John told him as much, John said, this isn’t lawful. This isn’t lawful. According to the only law that actually matters. And it is one of the, this is one of those passages that shines this great light on the reality that there are two different laws at work,

in our lives as citizens of the United States. We actually, we appreciate and recognize this already. Do you know how I know that? Because we have a law that is the law of the state of Tennessee. And if you break the law of the state of Tennessee, there is there, there, there are courts and judges in the state of Tennessee that can prosecute you and put you in jail for breaking the law in the state of Tennessee.

But if you break the law in Wyoming, can a judge who is a state judge in Tennessee prosecute you and put you in jail for breaking law in Wyoming. No, they can’t why they have no jurisdiction. But we understand in our country because of our structure of law, that there’s state law and there’s what federal law, and you can commit a federal crime and it doesn’t matter which state you’re in.

When you commit it, the federal law and the federal government can prosecute you. And we live under two different laws every day. Well guess what? We don’t just live under two different laws and our situation case in point, we live under three different laws. We live under the law of the state. We live in, we live under the law of the country.

We live in and then way up there above all the rest of them. We live under the law that God has established and you know, those lower laws, the federal courts law love to, to indicate the lower courts and those lower judges at those lower laws have said and done, and then overrule them. Well, the federal law of the country we live in and the state law and frankly,

the County law and the municipal law that we live in are all way, way, way lower than God’s law. And there is no point in time where a, an individual or group of individuals or collective of individuals gets to make a law superseding God’s law. It doesn’t matter how many people we put in a room or how big of a country we make,

and then decide that what God said, isn’t true. It’ll still be true. We’ll just be wrong. And Herod is told by John the Baptist. No, it doesn’t matter if you’re King. She is your brother Phillip’s wife. And no, it doesn’t matter that he wrote her a writing of divorcement. She is your brother Phillip’s wife, and you have no right to have her.

So Herod being the great King that he was being observant of all of God’s laws and in general, very big proponent of the things that God says. He immediately repents, right? No Herod being King as he was. And Herod decided instead of repenting, allergists, throw him in jail because that worked so well for all of the Kings and the prophets in the old Testament.

So let’s do it again. So he takes John and he throws him in jail, but after he had been there for a period of time, and I might note he did it because of who he did it because of her Proteus B because of his wife, he through John and Jay, there actually is some indication that her Herod had a great deal of respect for John,

but not enough to go against her radius. Okay. So Herodians held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not for Herod feared, John, knowing that he was a just and Holy man and he protected him. So he threw him in jail, but he also put himself in the way of Herodians his desire to kill him. And when he heard him,

he did many things and heard him gladly. So John is in jail, but Herod keeps bringing John to him and keeps listening to John keeps hearing John preach, even though he’s put him in jail, even though his wife is not happy about him and wants him dead, then an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his Nobles, the high officials,

high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. And when Herodians his daughter herself came in and danced and pleased Herod, and those who sat with him, the King said to the girl asked me whatever you want, and I will give it to you. He also swore to her, whatever you ask me, I will give you up to half my kingdom.

Have you ever known men that were just fools around women Herod? So anyway, so she went out and said to her mother, what shall I ask? And she said the head of John, the Baptist immediately. She came in with Hayes to the King and asked, saying, I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

And the King was exceedingly sorry yet because of the O’s. And because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her immediately. The King sent an executioner and commanded his head be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl. And the girl gave it to her mother.

When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb. Herod knows that John’s a good man and believes him to be a Holy man, but for the convenience of Harrods, own pride and position, and a least in today’s terms approval ratings, he’ll take his head off As if he’s a common criminal or worse than a common criminal.

And you see wrapped up in all of this, the ungodliness that is present at the very heart of Jewish society, because while Herod is not a full blooded Jew, who did we read? Was it the feasts Herod and his officers and the chief men of Galilee. You think those were Gentiles? No. You think maybe a few of those men, just a few years before had traveled down to the river Jordan to hear John and to be baptized in the Jordan river by John Good possibility.

But did they speak up and did they stop Herod when this occurred? No. And so Jesus sends out his disciples to preach the same message. They hadn’t quite sunk in yet when John preached it, that was repentance. Okay. We’ll go through the questions Sunday morning. Thank you for your attention. Good evening. Welcome to the Collierville Wednesday night Bible study and devotional.

It’s good to see each and every of you out here tonight, and those you that are unable to make it out. I’m glad that you were able to join us, either calling in or via the live feed. One of these days, this pandemic will go away. So we can all join together here and worship our God on the announcements, the guests that are here,

it’s glad to see each and every one of you. And we’re so glad that you chose to worship here tonight. Our sick ed Richardson. That’s my father-in-law Cheryl’s dad. He fell again this past Sunday, and it has injured his back a little bit more. So please keep my father-in-law and the entire family and your thoughts and prayers continue to pray for Barbara Dillard as she goes through her recovery from her surgery.

Joan Springer is at home, recovering from her surgery. She doing a little bit better, Marie. Yup. Okay, good. It’s good news to hear that. And Don Flanagan is still in the Memphis Jewish home, going through his rehab for his hip replacement. Janie Marlin is back home from the hospital, but the note here says that she’s feeling worse right now than she went when she went into the hospital.

So something is still not going right with Janie. So please keep Jane and your thoughts and prayers. Dorothy Wilson. She got a good report from her kidney doctor, but she still has a lot of stomach pains going on. So continue to pray for Dorothy. And then Rodel had his stress test and ultrasound, and we’re still waiting for the results on that.

For Rudel, please continue to remember the Saturn or scent family and their loss of Jenny’s dad. His services are going to be this coming Friday down in bell, chase Louisiana, and also continue to remember the Cozort family and the Stax family and their recent losses. Also potters children’s home will be here on Thursday, February 18th, to pick up the commodities and the coin cans.

So if you have anything that you want them to have, make sure you get it here prior to the 18th of February so that they can pick that up. When I get down here and then on a really, really good note here, congratulations to Gary and Maggie Collie. They have a new great grandson. Ellis Glenn Collie was born Khalifa and Rebecca are the proud parents.

So if you talk to Gary and Maggie congratulate them and also happy birthday to miss Maggie, that’s all the announcements I have are service. Tonight. Song is going to be Michael Dale. The devotion will be Noah Olsen and closing. Prayer is Murray Springer. Thank you. Good Mark song number 911. That will be the song of invitation number nine one one Song number 911.

And our song before Noah brings us, our devotional will be number 470 victory in Jesus. Number Four seven zero we’ll sing verses one and three, 470. I heard an old, old story. How I save you came from glory where you gave us<inaudible> to save<inaudible> me. I heard about his grown, Hey, this precious blah, Tony. Then I repented of my sins.

One vict Ori. Oh, victory. Jeez.<inaudible> for, he saw me and me with his<inaudible>. He loved me.<inaudible> and there’s do, he plunged me to victory. The need, the cleansing heard about a man. He has built for me and glory. And I heard about a street of go beyond the<inaudible><inaudible> and the old Ray damn Shan story and some sweet dad sing a song,

a<inaudible> Oh, victory. And jeez<inaudible> for, he saw me and me<inaudible> blah, God. He loved me.<inaudible> and<inaudible> he plunged me to victory being ni cleansing. Ah, Okay, good morning. Is this still on or good morning? Good evening. Is this good? All right. Well, good evening. First John chapter one,

verses five through nine. You want to be turning there where this evening, first John chapter one, verses five through nine. These are some of my favorite verses and these verses show what a Christian must do to obtain fellowship and to maintain fellowship with God. And again, notice John here is writing to Christians. Those who have been baptized in Christ. And if you notice verse number five,

this then is the message, which we’ve heard of him and declare unto you that God is light. And in him, there’s no darkness at all. Often like the analogy of the circle, God and us, God is always in the circle, meaning light. We can be in that circle with him, anytime that we desire, but we have to do what he says.

And we go out of that circle. Every time we sin and outside of that circle is darkness it’s sin lostness. And we need always to remember, to always walk in the light and he tells us how to, you can say, stay in that circle. Notice verse six. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth.

How many times do you often see quote, Christians say that they’re Christians profess, that they know gone in works. Deny him. If you go over to Titus chapter two, notice what Paul tells Titus in verse 16, Titus chapter one, verse 16. They profess that they notice this. No, God, but in works. They deny him being abominable and disobedient.

And then to every good work reprobate, we need to make sure that we do not just profess to know God or claim to be faithful. We need to make sure that we show that we’re faithful by our works. I can have faith all day long. I can confess that I am a Christian. If my works my life as a Christian has not proved that it means nothing reminds me of Jesus words on the sermon on the Mount Matthew chapter seven,

verse 21, not everyone is safe in me. Lord, Lord shall enter into, came to the feathers here that do with what the will of God, the will of my father, which isn’t heaven. So yes, we have to do those things. But notice verse number seven, what John points out to us here. But if we notice walk in the light,

that’s a continual walk. If I’ve been baptized in the Christ, that’s a good thing. But if I don’t continue, I don’t get heaven. Notice if I walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ. His son cleanses us from all sin. That we’re is a continual process,

keeps on cleansing. If I continue to do, as God wants me to do, yes, I was baptized before I was washed of sin. That I can continue to have that forgiveness. If I continue to walk in the line and he tells me how to live faithfully in verses eight and nine, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.

And the truth is not in us. One of my, I guess it’d be, Michael’s one of his fellow students. When I was talking to him about, he had a good lesson idea and I love this title, sin as expected. That’s never accepted. God knows that we will sin. He understands that, but he never accepts it. He will never accept sin and he will never accept those who live in sin.

We, we, we know that we will sin, but the question is, what are we going to do about it? We need to repent notice verse nine. If we confess our sins, he’s faithful. And just to forgive us, our sins, notice this and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, we’re going to live faithful. And to God,

we will sin, but we must make that choice to get away from sin. You know, something that I like thinking about as well, notice this phrase, faithful, we need as Christians to forgive ourselves at times. I think sometimes when we don’t forgive ourselves, what are we doing? We’re denying the power of God. God can’t forgive anything. He is the most powerful being in the universe.

Anything that you’ve done, you can be forgiven of if you confess that to God, if we repent. And so we as Christians must do what’s to stay inside the circle, to walk in the lies he is in the line. When we mess up, we come to him repentance so we can live faithful and we can continue to be, as we want us to be.

And perhaps there was one here tonight who has not been doing the things that God would have them to do. You haven’t been walking in the light as he is in the light. And perhaps there are some sending in their life that you do need to repent. God is not going to accept sin. At any times, he knows that you will sin.

Or the question is what are you going to do about that? Are you going to turn away or remain in that second, Peter chapter three and verse number nine, the Lord is not Slack concerning his promise to some men count slackness, but as long suffering to us, not willing that any should perish, but that all everyone, you will come back to repentance,

but perhaps there’s one here tonight who has never even met obeyed the gospel. Would you believe that Jesus is his son have gone by a printing of your sin and repenting of your sins? Confessing Christ, poor man. And then making that choice to the additives church, through the baptism for the remission of sins. If anyone has subject, why don’t you come as we stand?

As we sing, He well create a new<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> no. Oh, bring him your<inaudible><inaudible> troubles you. Oh, bring it. Oh, bring him<inaudible><inaudible> Oh God, he will really, eh<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> pres shall be ah, add-on to the<inaudible>, which allowed him life would be a dog<inaudible><inaudible> and have, eh,

Father in heaven. We’re thankful for Jesus Christ and his suffering on the cross of Calvary, bringing you back redemption between us and God, making peace between us and God Lord, we ask that you would be with us as we go through this life. Help us to remember that baptism is a one-time thing, but repentance must go with us. All our lives keep is with us.

So we can again be clean and spot that in your sight. When you look on the gifts of our sins, father, these things who asked in Christ’s name, amen.

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02-03-2021 – Live Stream Matthew 8:18-22; Luke 8:22-39 (M. Dale)

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

What did the Pharisees believe about Jesus after he filled the man who was both dumb and Devin demon possessed, he was doing it because of the level of power of the Prince of demons, Prince of the devil. And sadly that’s, that’s, that’s a bad state to be in when you’re claiming that Jesus has power is of the devil. Alrighty. Thank you all<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Welcome to the Collierville church Christ Sunday morning worship service.

It’s good to see each and every one of you here this morning, if you’re visiting with us, we are glad that you chose the Collierville church Christ to visit with us. At most importantly, though, worship our God to those of you that are at home and unable to get out. I am praying that we got the live stream fixed. We had a problem with it for Bible study,

but we do believe we have that fixed. So hopefully we did so that you can watch and participate in today’s worship service. If you did not get your Lord’s supper on your way in, please take this opportunity as I go through the announcements and go to the back on the tables back there and pick up your Lord’s supper so that you have it with you at that time.

A lot of announcers, Mrs. Warren. So please Remember our sick ed Richardson and Paula Barbara Dillard, Joan Springer. She’s at home now recovering from heart. Don Flanagan is in the Memphis Jewish home. He’s doing rehab for the hip replacement that he had. Janie Marlin is in Baptist East. They’re trying to get her heart rate under control. They’re having problems,

getting it below 120. And I have not heard an update on her this morning, but please pray for Janie. Dorothy Wilson is waiting for some kidney test results and then her husband Rodel will have an ultrasound and stress test on Tuesday of this week, sympathy to the Cozort family. If you have not heard, surely Cozort Aaron’s grandmother did pass away this morning at five 30.

So please keep the Cozort family and your thoughts and prayers at their loss of Shirley. At this time also sympathy to Michael and Shelly stacks. Shelly’s mother Elaina sharp passed away two days ago. And the services for her will be this afternoon at serenity funeral home here in Memphis viewing as at one in the service immediately follow that viewing. Also Vincent to Daryl that’s Jenny Sanderson’s father passed away two days ago.

So please keep the Darrow family and Terry and Jenny. And your thoughts and prayers is Terry in January, down there in Louisiana for that other announcements freed Harmon’s 85th annual lectureship begins today and runs through the 11th of February. We have the basket of names out on the table, in the foyer for the shut-ins. Please take a name there. And when you have time call someone,

that’s unable to make it out here because I’ll guarantee you, they appreciate your calls and your chatting with them a little bit. See if there’s anything they need. Gary Collie on the nationwide gospel call. We’ll be speaking tomorrow night at 9:00 PM. So make sure you tune into that. And then for the men, the men’s business meeting is next Monday, not tomorrow,

but a week from tomorrow on the 15th of February, that’s all the announcements I have our service today. Song leader will be no Olsen. Opening. Prayer will be Joel caisson. Lord supper would be Tommy O’Neil sermon would be Michael Dale and closing prayer will be Jay Schaffer. Thank you. Good morning for song is going to be number three. Hallelujah. Praise Jehovah.

Number three. Hallelujah. Praise your Whoville. We’ll sing all three verses. Listen, Lulu. Yeah. Praise John from the heavens. Praise his name. Praise Jehovah. And hi, it’s all this. Ain’t John sprays, bro. Claim all this suit guy. The praise, him, sun and moon and stars on high praise and ma he had<inaudible>.

Hey, any funds above the sky? Let them pray. Hey guys, his game, John<inaudible> for his name.<inaudible> and his<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and<inaudible> and<inaudible> let them praise his gift.<inaudible> they were<inaudible> them for forever. He established his dang Creek<inaudible> Oh, from the King of praise<inaudible> Oh, you fuck G drag and on fire and Hey LANs.

No<inaudible> stormy winds ad. Hear him call. Let them pray.<inaudible> for his name.<inaudible> is a guy and there’s<inaudible> there’s<inaudible> and there’s<inaudible><inaudible> Oh, he Frued full trees and Cedars. Oh, ye Hills and mountains. I am creeping things and be Stan<inaudible> Kings of a<inaudible> Prince’s great us. Oh, praise his name. Young man.<inaudible> aged man.

And children’s small. Let them pray.<inaudible> for his name alone is high and there’s<inaudible> and it’s<inaudible> and there’s<inaudible> FARA of the year fans guy. Our next song is going to be number 538, 538. And then after which we’ll have an opening prayer, we’re going to sing the first, second and third versus first, second, and third versus a 530th.

All right, let us sing. I hope is built on nothing last then Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust us, me this frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name on Christ. The song rock I stand on the ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. And when darkness veils his lovely face, rest on his, on changing grace and every high and stormy game.

My anchor holds in the van on Christ. The solid rock I stand on the ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking. Sand is<inaudible> his blood support me and a well-meaning flood. When all around my soul gives way. He then is all my hope and on Christ, the solid rock I stand on the ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.

Wow, Dear God, our father in heaven, we truly are grateful unto thee for the privilege that we have this day to come together and worship the one and only true God father. We’re so grateful for the family of God that meets here. And for the encouragement we received from one another, we’re thankful for the period of Bible study that we had this morning.

And we’re thankful for the words and the book of Matthew that we’re able to strengthen our, so our lives and increase our faith. We pray father that we always are mindful of your wheel. And they were striving each day to do the best we can to follow the principles that you have set forth for us. We pray father that you would be with our community and our nation as well throughout the world,

that others would realize that you are a God and that your word is dictates how we should conduct ourselves upon this earth that we might have that hope of heaven with a one day father help us to be supportive of those that are in mission fields, teaching and preaching your word, that they will be safe for one thing. And that many souls might be able to hear the gospel.

And we pray that their hearts will be such that they would be obedient to it. Father, we’re mindful of the area, roundabout, a sear, and we pray that you give us the strength and the courage to be willing to share your word with those in this area, that they too might come to know you and won’t obey your will, by the way.

We’re so grateful for the Bible and for what it does for us. As far as letting us know you and letting us know what you expect of man, and let us know how much your son loved us and was willing to die on the cross of Calvary, that we might have the forgiveness of our sins. Father. We pray that we think about that each and every day that we live,

that we are drawn closer to you by our study of your word. And by the encouragement that we receive from one another father, we’re mindful of those that are ill among the congregation. We pray father that you be with them and bless them. And may they receive the care they need to have that health restored by the word mindful of those families that have lost a loved one.

We pray that you be with a Cozort family and the loss of Erin’s grandmother, probably that you be with Sanderson family. And the loss of Jen is dead pray also that you be with Shelly’s family and loss of her mother father help us to be of some comfort to them. And we pray that they would look to you for that comfort as well. Father,

we’re grateful for the visitors that we have today, and we pray that you bless them. And we’re so thankful that they’re able to be with us this day. We pray father that you be with Michael, as he brings the word of life to us this morning, we pray that you bless him in his studies at the school of preaching and also blessed Noah and his studies there as well,

help us to be an encouragement to them and pray that they will always strive to continue to grow in their faith and their ability to teach and preach. The gospel father bless us this hours, as we continue to worship you, we pray it will be in spirit and in truth, and it will be pleasing unto you. And that we will be able to be strengthened by it and try to be better citizens in the kingdom.

Be with Noah as he continues to lead us in the song service and bless them in Jesus name, we pray amen. The song before the Lord’s supper will be number 176, the one 76 name of God. We’re going to sing all three verses of the song. I’m 76. Listen, your<inaudible> sin to my, you have. And, and from your sign to walk up on this scale teas and to being calm,

the lamb of God, Oh,<inaudible> I love the<inaudible>. Oh, me and his precious, my Jesus Christ. The lamb of God, your gift of love. They cruise. If they laughed in school, on him, as he died,<inaudible> King named and sacrifice the lamb of God. Oh, lamb, I’ve gone. Sween them. I’ve gone.

I love the whole me them. I’ve gone. Oh, wash me and his precious blah. My Jesus Christ. The lamb of God. I was so lost. I should add my, you have wrong. God, me to your sign to me.<inaudible> your staff and rod. And to be called a lamb of God. Oh, ma’am, I’ve gone.

Sameen them up. God, I love the whole, me, them a home gone. Oh, wash me and his precious. My Jesus Christ. The lamb of God And the 11th chapter of first Corinthians. We are told that on the first day of each week, we are to eat of this bread, drink of this cup, to remember the death of Christ,

our savior, who were told that this represents his body and his blood. And we are to do this, to remember his death until he returns. Would you bow with me, our heavenly father. We thank you for this bread, which does represents the body of Christ, our savior, who was crucified for our sins. We pray, dear Lord did each one of us that protected this would do so with a humble and truly thankful heart for the sacrifice that Christ made for our sins.

They sinks. We ask in Christ’s name, our heavenly father. We continue our things for this fruit of the vine, which does represents the blood of Christ that she had far sands. We thank you, dear Lord, for the sacrifice that he made for us. We thank you for his blood, which is able to cleanse us of our sins as we partake of it,

hippy each one of us to do so in a manner that’s pleasing and acceptable. In my side, this we ask in Christ’s name, amen. That’s a separate part of our worship service. We have this opportunity to return to our God a part of that, that we have been blessed with. Would you bow with me, our heavenly father? We thank you for all of the blessings that we receive from me,

including the blessing of life. We thank you for the mains that you’ve given us to provide a living for ourselves and our families. As we prepared to return a part of that, we have been blessed with help us to do so with a cheerful and giving heart. This we ask in Christ’s name. Amen. If anyone is using a Psalm book, you want to go ahead and Mark 904,

nine zero four would be the song of invitation. Have you been to Jesus? And the song before the lesson will be number 349, three four nine. And we’ll sing the first three verses of this song. 349. First three verses. Let us see. He bound that hands on, jeez, us and the garden, where he praying. They let him through the streets and shame.

They spat upon save. You are so pure and free from sin. And they said, crucify him. He is to blame. He got up<inaudible> and set in freezing. He could have called 10,000 name Jos, but it died. Where are you? And me? Pawn is precious. And they placed a crown of orphans. They laughed and said being long NA King,

they struck him and they cursed him and mocked his Holy name all alone. There is a food at a very thing. He could have called 10,000 ane Joes to in his drawing and set him free. He could have called 10,000 ane Jones, but it died or you and me, when they nailed him to the cross, his mother stood near by. He said,

mom and me home. Nice. He cried. I thirst for water mud. They gave him none to drink. Then a sinful work of man was he could have called 10,000 ain Joes to destroy a world and set him free. He could have called 10,018 Jones buddy died for you and me Church. Still trying to get a little used to these new glasses.

So bear with me, I guess, sitting underneath fluorescent lights and staring at a computer screen all day can cause you to start losing your vision this morning. I want to start off by reading from the gospel of Mark chapter 15, and we’ll begin in verse 21, Mark chapter 15 beginning in verse 21. Okay. And they compel one Simon<inaudible> who passed by coming out of the country,

the father of Alexander and Rufus to bear his cross. And they bring him onto the place Golgotha, which is being interpreted the place of a skull. And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh, but he received it nod. And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour and they crucified him.

And the superscription of this, of his accusation was written over the King of the Jews. And with him, they crucify two thieves, the one on his right hand and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled with Seth. And he was numbered with the transgressors and they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads and saying, ah,

thou that destroys the temple and build a state in three days, save myself and come down from the cross. Likewise, also the chief priests mocking set among themselves with the scribes. He saved others himself. He cannot save, let Christ the King of Israel to send now from the cross that we may see unbelieve and they, that were crucified with him,

reviled him. And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice saying Eli, Eli Lama, Suboxone, and I, which is being interpreted my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me. And some of them that stood by when they heard it said behold,

he called with Elias and one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar and put it on a Reed and gave him to drink saying, let alone, let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in Twain from the top to the bottom.

And this<inaudible>, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out and gave up the ghost. He said, truly, this man was the son of God. I want you to imagine with me for a moment, if you will, that you know, tomorrow you will be facing your own death. But also imagine that your death will be the most horrifying experience of your life.

Your heart is in anguish because you know what you were about to face. You know that a friend has turned against you. You know, that you will be given over to those who despise you. A multitude will come with weapons and sees you like a criminal. They will physically abuse you. They will mock you. And they will hate you with a hatred so deep that they just want to kill you.

You know that those who said they love you and would even die for you, will desert and leave you to face this enemy completely alone. Now, imagine it is the morning after this horrifying night today, you know that things are not going to get any better. You have been awake all night and you have had nothing to eat or drink. You are taken by your enemy and deliver it over to a government official at around nine o’clock in the morning.

And as you stand before this official, he realizes that you have done absolutely nothing wrong, but he is a weak man. And he tries to appease the crowd’s anger. By having you beat. He turns you over to the soldiers and orders you to be scorched. They strip you naked and hang you by your wrists. From a post with your feet,

barely able to touch the ground. They take a whip made of leather straps with pieces of sharp bone and shards of pottery tied to the end. And to begin to beat you across your back, your buttocks and your legs with no less than 39 lashes with every lash, the pieces of bone and pottery rip into your flesh and pull it open. Ribbons of flesh are hanging from your body.

Blood is running profusely down your entire back. Gabe wounds appear on your flesh, exposing your ribs and possibly other vital organs. After the soldiers have beaten you, they take you down from the post and violently force, a crown of thorns upon your head and into your head scalp, the soldiers then put a Scarlet robe over you and place a staff on in your right hand upon doing this.

They fall into the ground and mock you, and as you stand there before them bloody and beaten, the soldiers, then stand up and begin to spit in your face and take the rod from your hand and begin to beat that crown of thorns with it until it is further and further into your scalp. Following this beating a six foot long beam weighing approximately 75 to 125 pounds as strapped across your bead and back.

And it is tied to your wrists. You then begin the long walk to the place where you will be officially killed. And this walk is about a third of a mile from where you currently are. As you walk to your place of death, everyone continues to mock. You possibly spitting in your face, throwing things at you, along the way you collapse.

And someone is forced to help you carry the beam. Now you arrive at your place of death. You are the most exhausted you have ever been in your life. The soldiers take that being from you and nail it to a riser. They grab you and forcefully throw you down onto the beam, taking a hammer. They drive seven inch iron spikes through both of your wrists into the beam.

Then they cross your legs and drive that same seven inch iron spike through the, through the tops of your feet, right above the arch. Finally, they lift the cross up and with a thud, it is settled into the hole where you will hang by your appendages. As you hang there and excruciating amazing pain, agonizing pain, you can still hear the crowd mocking you slowly.

The weight of your body begins to weigh heavy upon your legs and you relax. But when you do, you find it extremely difficult to breathe. You push yourself up, scraping your back, your legs and everything up against that wooden beam. Your wrists are in pain. Your legs are in pain. Your back is in unbearable pain. So once again,

you collapsed, barely able to breathe. Eventually all your strength is gone and you can no longer lift yourself up to breathe by around three o’clock. You are dead due to his fixation and possible heart failure. Now consider that everything I said actually happened to one man, Jesus, but you may ask why was this man a criminal? No, he wasn’t a criminal.

Then why did this happen to him? One reason it happened because we all needed it to happen. You see, without the death of Jesus, we would have no hope of salvation. It was only through the shedding of his blood that we find hope today. I want us to focus on the death and shedding of Christ blood and what the shedding of Christ’s blood does for us.

Why was it that Jesus had to die in this horrific way? What we find is that the blood of Jesus isn’t necessary because of what it does. Let us consider the first thing Jesus’s blood does. Jesus’s blood provides remission of sins. The Bible affirms forgiveness of sins through his blood. Let us consider Matthew chapter 26 and verse 28, Matthew chapter 26 and verse 28,

where this is my blood of the new Testament, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins. The preposition for here for many, for the remission of sins in the Greek is ACE appearing here. And it also appears in acts chapter two 38. Each of you be baptized for the remission of sins. This word ACE here means in order to obtain the remission of sins.

So for this is my blood of the new Testament, which is shed for many in order to obtain remission for sins. It is the blood that washes our robes clean turn with me to revelation chapter one, revelation chapter one and verse five, None of the dead and the Prince of the Kings of the earth unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood turn.

Now to just a couple pages over revelation, chapter seven, and we’ll begin reading in verse 13, revelation chapter seven in verse 13. And one of the elders answered saying unto me, what are these? Which are a raid and white road? Yes, He said to me, these are they, which came out of a great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them Let us Much more than being now justified by his blood.

We shall be saved from wrath through him, The word job and courtroom situation. I found guiltless. It is through the blood of Jesus that we are all as Christians found guiltless, some might ask, why did Jesus have to die for this to be? So why did such a high price have to be paid? The holiness of God, the nature of sin and the sinfulness of man.

That’s why God is Holy. As we read in Isaiah chapter six and verse three, Isaiah chapter six and verse three and one cried on to another and said, Holy Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. The nature of sin is an arche against God. It is unholiness And archaic. This testimony had to do for me.

Chapter nine, All the things are by the law purged with blood and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was there for necessary that the pattern of things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. Let us also consider what Isaiah said, what ISE Zaida said through prophecy in Isaiah chapter 53,

verses four through six, Isaiah chapter 53, verses four through six, as they arise through inspiration, surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken smitten of God and afflicted, but he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes,

we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord hath laid on him. The iniquity of a soul, Jesus bore the guilt of all of our sins. If we try to bear the guilt of our own sins, we are separated from God and lost. If our sins have not been forgiven,

then we are wasting the blood that Christ shed for each and every single one of us, the blood of Jesus is necessary because of what it does. It provides remission of sins. Let us now consider the second thing that Jesus’s blood does for us. Jesus’s blood provides reconciliation. Reconciliation is to make right what was not to remove the barrier that separates re again,

concile unite. We again are with Christ with God through Christ. The Bible affirms reconciliation through the blood of Jesus. It is through the death of Jesus that we are reconciled to God. Turn with me back to Romans chapter five, Romans chapter five, and we’ll read verse 10, Romans five 10. Or if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son,

much more being reconciled. We shall be saved by his life. Let us also consider Ephesians chapter two, Ephesians chapter two and beginning in verse 12. That at that time you were without Christ being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world, but now in Christ, Jesus, you who sometimes were far off,

are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Through his blood. We are reconciled to God through his blood. We are brought near to God, to the father. A little boy is lying at death’s door at his deathbed. His mother is on his left and his father is on his right. They’ve been separated, alienated estranged, and it was breaking this little boy’s heart with the last surge of his strength.

He reaches up and grabs both of their hands and brings them together in his death in an effort to bring about their reconciliation. Jesus Christ, the God man hung suspended at Golgotha. He reached up to the father who in his holiness has been offended by the anarchy of man. And he reached down to man deeply marred and scarred by sin. And he brought the two together in his death,

bringing about reconciliation. Jesus breaks down that which separates us from God through his own blood. The blood of Jesus is necessary because of what it does. It provides reconciliation, understanding that the blood of Jesus, that through the blood of Jesus, we have both remission of sins, forgiveness, and reconciliation with the father. We can now turn to our third and final blessing.

The fact that Jesus’s blood brings redemption to be redeemed is to be brought back. That is a price has to be paid for you to be brought back. Something had to be paid. And the Bible affirms redemption. Jesus died to redeem us all you to Ephesians chapter one and verse just one page over. If you turn with me to Ephesians chapter two,

visions one seven, and whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. Now let us consider first Peter chapter one in verse 18. First Peter chapter one beginning in verse 18, or as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,

but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb, without blemish and without spot, who barely was fore ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. It is through the blood that we are reconciled brought back to God and it’s through Christ blood that we are redeemed to be with Christ, with Christ in heaven with God,

once more. Now let us consider first Corinthians chapter six, if you’ll turn with me to first Corinthians chapter six, we’ll begin in verse 19. First Corinthians six, 19 and 20. What knowing you, not that your body is the temple of the Holy ghost, which is in you, which he have of God. And you’re not your own for ye are bought with a price,

therefore glorify God and your body and in your spirit, which are, God’s a slave girl who worked faithful for her master was allowed to work for others. And she was paid for what she did, being a hard worker and frugal with what she was paid. She amassed a large sum of money. When the master fell on hard times, he put some of his slaves up for sale,

including this woman. She used her money to buy her freedom. Shortly after this, the old master died and her brother was put in the block for sale. He was a strong man and the bidding continued to rise when the auctioneer’s gavel was raised and he was going, he was saying, going, going a shrill voice came from behind the crowd with a bid.

So high, no one went against it. It was his sister. And she had now saved him. But that young man to his dying day, forget the redemptive love of his sister. I think not for those who are in Christ. Can we ever forget that we have been bought with a price? We are his mind muscle. We are his money time tongue.

We are his, our talents. Everything about us is his because of his sacrifice, because we are redeemed. The blood of Jesus is necessary because of what it does. It provides redemption. When we look back at the time of Jesus’s death, we see that it was a time of great pain and suffering, and it was the death. Unlike what any had faced before,

not only in its brutality, but especially in what his death provided for the entire world. You see people die every day, but only one death was faced with the hope of all mankind at stake, through the death of Jesus and the shedding of his blood. We find what nothing else can provide. And his blood. We find our remission of sins,

our forgiveness. We find our reconciliation to the father and through his blood, we find redemption, but how does this blood affect us? How do I receive what his blood offered turn with me to Romans chapter six verses one through seven, Romans chapter six. And we’ll be reading verses one through seven. What shall we say then, shall we continue in sin that Grace May abound?

God forbid, how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? No, ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death. Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death. That like as Christ was raised from the dead, by the glory of the father, even. So we also should walk in newness of life for if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death,

we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed. That henceforth we should not serve sin for he, that is dead is freed from sin. How, and when do we appropriate the saving power of Jesus’s blood? The Bible teaches that we are baptized into his death.

We are washed in the blood of Christ. When we are biblically baptized, the blood of Jesus is necessary because of what it does for everyone. It provides the remission, reconciliation, and redemption. We need to share in his eternal glory. If you have not been washed in the blood of the lamb, the waters of baptism are ready for you. Or if you need the prayers of the saints,

we’re here for you. Whatever your need may be, please come forward. As we stand and sing<inaudible> are you fully trusting in his grace this hour? Are you a washed in the blood of lamb bar you accomplished in, in the us or cleansing?<inaudible> are you, is spotless? Are they wide ass? No. Are you a washed in the blood of the lamb?

Are you walking daily by the save your side? Are you washed in of the lamb? Do you resting each moment and a cruise? If fine. Are you a blot of the lamb? Are you a shin blah. In the so cleansing<inaudible>. Are your garments spotless? Are they wide a snow? Are you a washed in the blood of the lamb?

Lay a side, the Gar myths that are stain Wiz and, and being washed in the blood of the lamb. There’s a fountain flowing for the so unclean. Oh, be washed and the blood of the lamb. Are you attached in the blood in the us also cleansing<inaudible>. Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Thank you Michael,

for that lesson this morning, closing song is going to be number 882 eight, eight two, no tears in heaven. We’ll sing the first verse. I’m number 882, no tears. And then we’ll have our closing prayer. Let us sing. No tears in heaven. No Saul Rose give and all will be glory. And that, and they’ll be no sadness.

All well. Be gladness when shall join that happy back and noting there’s no tears, no tears up there. Sorrow and pain. Well, all half long, no teeth. There’s no tears, no tears up there. No cheers and heaven will be no Heavenly father. We’re indeed grateful for this privilege. We’ve had to assemble and worship your great name.

We pray that our spirit, our worship has been in spirit and truth and a sweet savor unto thee. As we prepare to depart, we’re grateful for the skill and knowledge that both Michael and Noah have in presenting your word. We thank them. Thank them for the steady and devotion they have granted to your name. We’re also mindful those of our number that are mentioned that are sick.

We pray your healing hand will be placed upon them. They once again, may appreciate and gain a full measure of Hill. We’re mindful of the Cozort family is a mourn the loss of Aaron’s grandmother of Shelly stacks. As she mourns the loss of her mother and Jenny Sanderson, and she mourns the loss of her father comfort. Each of them let them know that we are indeed great,

are sorrowful, further loss. As we prepare to depart, we ask that you will forgive our sins as a repent and turn from them and bless each of us. According to her several needs through the coming week. It’s in Jesus name that we pray. Amen.

01-31-2021 – Live Stream – The Importance of Prayer

In Live Streams, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible> Good morning. I told you he turned knobs. You can probably turn it down a little bit.<inaudible> I think Mike had got loose in the booth. Okay. We have a few lessons worth of questions to catch up on three as if I’m correct. And if not, we’ll catch up on more, but we’ll do that as we get started,

it is good to be home. My grandmother is still with us. She’s at home and we’ll make an announcement during the worship. Just going to give everybody an idea of where things are at. We will be headed back up some point this week, probably the first of this week. She didn’t have a good day yesterday. We haven’t heard how today’s gone yet.

So, but anyway, we appreciate your prayers and your thoughts and your willingness to allow us to, to be up there. Anybody who’s given at least 24 hour presence for someone who’s in, in that situation knows that takes quite a few people to be able to maintain for longer than a day or two. So we appreciate the, the extending of that courtesy.

All right, we are going to begin with a prayer and then we’ll get into a few of these questions. And if anybody needs a sheet of the questions there, of course they’re in the back. Let us pray. Our gracious heavenly father, We bow before you grateful for this day that you’ve blessed us with grateful for the love, the care and the concern that you have showed us each and every day by the sunshine and the rain by the nature that is around us and the universe that you’ve placed us in all these things that declare your glory and praise your existence.

We are so grateful for each and every one of them. And yet do not even fully comprehend all the things that you do for us on a daily basis. We’re mindful of those who are struggling with illness, with difficulty, with pain. We pray that they will have comfort. We pray that if possible, they will be returned to their health. We pray for all those who are caregivers and the extremely difficult job that they have in their own day to day lives.

We pray that you watch over this congregation may its works flourishing grow, may the things that we do be acceptable in your sight and sound and doctrine. And may we always strive to reach out to those around us, to be a helping hand, to be an encouragement and uplifting to those who are in need all this. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.

So Ava and I were talking about it. And we think that the last set of questions that we went over was two 46, which means we’re going to start with two 47. But if somebody says, otherwise we’ll start Further back. Yeah, But I think two 47 sounds about right. That would be Luke chapter 12 verses 22 through through Luke chapter 13,

verse nine. First question comes from Luke chapter 12, verses 24, 27, 28 and 31. Jesus discussed anxiety over food by telling how God feeds blank birds and specifically what, what kind of birds were mentioned? Ravens. Okay. Jesus discussed anxiety over clothing by telling how God clothed blank. The grass in Luke’s account Lily’s is, is what’s referenced in Matthew’s account.

The grass is what’s mentioned in Luke’s instead of being anxious, concerning food and clothing, we should seek blank kingdom of God. All right. Where did Jesus say? A person’s heart will be according to verse 34 where his treasure is according to verse 40 of chapter 12. What hour can we expect Jesus to return The hour? Do not expect Luke chapter 12 verses 47 and 48.

Yes or no. Does Jesus require greater service out of those with greater abilities and opportunities? Yes. Luke chapter 12, verse 51 through 53. How did Jesus say he would cause divisions in families?<inaudible> All right. Three against two, two against three father versus son, son versus father, mother versus daughter mother-in-law versus daughter-in-law daughter-in-law versus mother-in-law et cetera.

What did Jesus say? According to Luke chapter 13, verses three and five would happen to individuals who did not repent. They would perish. All right. Luke chapter 13, verses six through nine explained Jesus’ parable of the barren fig tree, which he used to further emphasize the need for repentance.<inaudible> What happens to something that doesn’t bear fruit, all right,

gets chopped down and cast it in the fire. Mark chapter four verses one through 29 quest lesson two 48, Mark chapter four verses one through 29.<inaudible> According to Mark chapter four, verse one. When preaching by the seashore, where did Jesus stand? Because of the large crowd. All right. In a boat loop, that’s supposed to be Mark chapter four,

Mark chapter four, verses three through eight in Jesus’ parable of the sower. What happened to the seed that fell by the road? All right. The birds came and devoured it. The seed that fell on the Rocky ground Sound okay. Sprang up, but then was withered by the heat of the day that heat of the sun, because it had no root seed that fell among the thorns.

All right. Spraying up, began to grow, but produced no fruit because it was choked out by the thorns. See that fell on the good soil. All right. Produce fruit in what capacities? 36, Steve. A hundred fold. Luke chapter four, verse 11. Yes or no. Did Jesus make a distinction in his teaching to his disciples and outside?

Did I say Luke again? Because I apparently a few of these. I forgot to change when I was converting the, the name Mark chapter four, verse 11 in explaining the meaning of the parable do. Now, now I’m reading the wrong one. Did Jesus make a distinction? Is in his teaching to his disciples and outsiders? The answer is yes.

And I think Yes, but it was really quiet. All right, Mark. Chapter four, verse 14 in explaining the meaning of the parable. Jesus said the sower, sows, the blank, the word Mark chapter four, verses 15 through 20 and explaining the meaning of the parable of the sower. What is the meaning of the ones who hear beside the road?

All right. Satan takes it away on the Rocky places. Say what? Okay. Okay. They receive it with gladness, but they have no root. And as we pointed out, they have no root in themselves is what the passage says among thorns. All right. Cares the world and the desires for other things, choke out the word and then Good ground.

All right. Receive it with gladness and bring forth fruit. Jesus said Mark. Chapter four, verses 21 and 22. Jesus said a lamb is brought to put a under APEC measure, be under a bed. See on a lampstand C On a lampstand. Jesus was referring to his teachings as the light of the lamp. Explain. Okay. There’s nothing,

Nothing hidden that won’t be revealed. And his teachings, The light. Okay. The light is the word of God. Yes. Mark chapter four, verse 27. Yes or no in Jesus’ parable. Did he say that the man knows when the seed he has sewn sprouts up and grows? No. Okay. 49, Matthew chapter 13 verses 24 through 52.

And this is our text for this morning, Matthew chapter 13, verses 24 through 52. All right. You get some, some Of these papers out of here. So I don’t get confused. Well, I mean, any more confused than I always am. So, all right. Matthew chapter 13, beginning verse 24. Now, as we get into this bear in mind,

a few things. If you go back into the previous chapters, go back into verse or chapter 12, you’ve got the discussion that we’ve had previously. So that just kind of keeping Matthew’s context here. You’ve got Jesus who heals a man who is a mute and blind. He can’t see, he can’t speak, Jesus heals him and cast out the demon that was in him because he was demon possessed and the Pharisees and the scribes said he did it by what?

The power of Satan. Okay. In this context, we have already Matthew identifying that these individuals are so willing to confront and oppose Jesus, that they will witness a miracle. A man who was blind, who could see a man who couldn’t speak, who received the ability to speak the man who was demon possessed, who had that demon cast out, they would witness that.

And they would claim it was the power of Satan that did it. That’s how dead they were Against Jesus and against anything that he was in favor of and against any admittance that what he was teaching was True. We need to be careful when we come to a context, especially a context where Jesus says that the parables are being given to hide the truth from some and provide the truth to others.

We need to be careful to understand the situation She’s working. This isn’t how Jesus began teaching. Was it? I mean, we, You already covered Matthew chapters five through seven. How many parables There? None that was playing teaching That was confronting the error of their understanding of the old Testament. But now he’s beginning to reveal things concerning the kingdom. He’s beginning to take what the old Testament prophets told them about the kingdom and expound on It.

And in Doing so, he’s hiding the explanations from those who are unwilling To learn those Who are unwilling to hear the truth and believe it while revealing that same truth to those who would, I did hear it, learn it and believe it In the midst of the controversy, in the midst of the opposition, in the midst of, of the warfare and the onslaught from the scribes and the Pharisees who were seeking anything,

they could catch him in anything they could find to accuse him. Jesus packaged up these truths Into it Form. They couldn’t argue with, see one of the things about illustrations and stories when used properly is number one, they’re incorrect, Powerful. It is fun, Mentally true that we, we, as humans respond to stories. Here’s an example, man comes to a King and says,

there’s a man in your kingdom who was rich, had flocks and herds and abundance. And Someone was traveling from a far country and came to him and he decided he wanted to provide a feast for this man. So instead of going to his own flocks and his own herds and getting a lamb from his own flocks and herds, he goes, his neighbors Flock,

but his neighbors flock consists of one single you lamb. And that you lamb treated as a child. It, it was, it had all the, the care and love and concern its master could given. It was the only lamb he had. And yet this rich man comes and he takes that one little Ulam and he kills it and feeds his guest with it.

And the King responds, this man is going to die. We all know the story. This is the parable that Nathan gave to David. And the story provoked such a response as to bring about a death sentence from a King only to then be revealed to the King. Notice the hiding of truth than the revealing of truth. Nathan responds to David. You are the man.

Now there would be a number of times where the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the, the lawyers would identify themselves in the parable. They would know what it was Jesus was saying. And so would the people. And so it’s not always obscuring every aspect of the truth. Quite often, it’s revealing a part of the truth while also providing a further truth to those willing to hear.

Okay. So Jesus, as the master teacher, he was uses these things in the midst of opposition because it protected him insulated himself. And yet also provided clarity about those who opposed him. Verse 24 on there, another parable he put forth to them saying the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept,

his enemy came and sewed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have terrors? Okay. So VIN a landowner prepares his soil,

has his servants go out and sow seed he’s bought as it were the seed for reputable dealers. He’s, he’s gotten it from, from reputable sources. He paid for good seed. This story only slightly reminds me of the movie. If you’ve ever seen it, secondhand lions, if you’ve ever seen that movie, they, a traveling salesman comes out to these two guys,

these two older gentlemen and convinces them. They need to grow their own food. And he sells them all different kinds of seeds. You know, every pack in a dif different pack. This, this is tomatoes, and this is this, this is, this, this, this. And then they plant all of it. And in a little while they find out they have corn and corn and corn and corn,

and they have nothing but corn. Okay. So good seed that they didn’t identify the seed. And so the proper thing. So here, Jesus illustrates here’s this man who took care to sow good seed. He was careful to provide the right thing in the process. He wasn’t negligent. He wasn’t careless. He sowed good seed, but then his opponent,

his adversary, the one who sought to do him harm comes along in the night and sows tears. Now here in the illustration, we’ve got wheat and we’ve got tears. What is it that we understand to be true about these two plants as they’re beginning to grow? What do they look like? They look identical to each other. They, they have no real substantive difference in the growth process until you come to the bearing fruit process.

And then when harvest time comes, you begin to see the difference between the wheat and the tares. Now, someone as obviously the servants here who’s, who are closely and carefully inspecting, they notice the difference it’s to the, the person who’s just casually looking. They seem identical. Okay? But to the close inspection, you can tell the difference because they identify,

wait a minute, something’s wrong here. But then notice what we read. So servants of the owner came and said to him, verse 27, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares? He said to them, an enemy has done this. The servant said to him, do you want us then to go and gather them up?

So the servants asked the owner, do you want us to go and pull out the tailors, but notice the response. But he said, no less. You gather up the tares. You also uproot the wheat with them. The owner says in the growth process, you’ve because of what the adversary has done. You’ve got the wheat, its roots in tangled with the terrors roots.

You can’t pull up one without destroying at least some portion of the other. And he doesn’t want the, the wheats, the wheat destroyed. He wants it to grow and bear fruit. So notice his, his decision verse 30, let both grow together until the harvest. And at the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers first gathered together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them,

but gather the wheat into my barn. Jesus says this landowner, this farmer decides I’m not going to uproot the tares. Now I’m not going to pull them out while they’re still growing. I’m going to separate them at the harvest. But at that point, it will be obvious and clear to everyone. The difference between the two now, for the sake of discussion and continuity,

we’re actually going to skip down to verse 36 to the disciples, asking Jesus about this parable. Then we’ll come back up and deal with the next section, verse 36. And Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, explain to us the parable of the tares of the field he answered and said to them,

he who sows. The good seed is the son of man. The field is the world. The good seed are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who’s showed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age. And the reapers are the angels. Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire.

So what will be at the end of this age, the son of man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom, all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness and we’ll cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun and the kingdom of their father.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear. This is one of those parables where there is not consensus. Even though the explanation of Jesus is here. There’s not consensus on exactly how to apply it. I’ve known teachers and preachers who have understood this to be more specifically concerning the church, that there would be those within the body of Christ, living in the world,

who during the time that they’re in the world, they might appear to be those who are righteous, but not actually be. They might be hypocrites. They might appear to be those who are serving gone, but aren’t actually doing so. And that when the judgment comes, God’s going to know the difference. They’re not pulling the wool over God’s eyes, even though they may be pulling the wool over somebody else’s eyes.

And there may be an, and one of the valid and instructive in implications of that is there are individuals in times and situations in congregation where those who are shepherds, those who are elders, look at these individuals and go, I just don’t think they’re doing what they need to be doing. I don’t think they’re living the way they need to be living,

but they’re not blatantly departing from the truth. They’re not walking away. They’re, they’re not, they’re not forsaking the church in the sense of not showing up. They’re not assembling. They’re not worshiping. They’re not praising God. They’re not, they’re not doing any of those things. They’re literally departing Hebrews chapter 10, verse 25. They’re not doing that.

They’re still giving the signs of being those who are righteous, but something’s not right. And the lesson is sometimes it’s beyond the capability of the person or the human or the elder or the preacher or the teacher to determine that because they might think they’re getting a tear when all they’re really getting is a wheat that struggling and you rip out the wrong thing, and God says,

you’re doing something you shouldn’t be doing. And so the need to be careful in judging that we don’t destroy what belongs to God valid lesson. And I know some preachers, that’s where they land. I know others who look at this and say that particular implication of this, the particular instruction here is very similar to that. But instead of you, of the entire world,

that God knows those who belong to him and those who don’t. And we don’t have to worry about going through our entire lives judging who’s right, and who’s wrong, but God will judge. And the final day. And I think that’s an okay explanation. But I think actually both of them miss the immediate context when Jesus speaks concerning the end of the age,

when Jesus speaks concerning the world, when Jesus speaks concerning the judgment in this context, I don’t think he’s talking about the judgment there. All of this has set behind it, a context of the kingdom of God. Okay? And when Jesus speaks to the Jews about the kingdom of God, the Jews understood and including the disciples, understood him to be speaking concerning the kingdom that God would create.

When the Messiah came, that would be Israel and Israel’s kingdom that the restoration of their power, their presence, their physical kingdom would be what the promise was all about. And it wasn’t. But here’s the thing, as Jesus is teaching them concerning these things, as he is teaching them concerning the kingdom, he does specifically say, this is the world that revolves around the field though,

the term for world and the term for age, both have similar ideas. But I believe in this context, Jesus is specifically referencing the nation of Israel and what he would do in judging that nation. Think about it. As we go back into the old Testament prophets, as we go back into the old Testament age, you’ve got the prophets telling Israel,

you need to repent. You need to repent. You need to repent. You need to repent, or you will be judged and God will make sure his remnant is saved. You remember Habakkuk would tell Israel the just shall live by faith. And Jesus points out that at the end of the age, when God brings judgment upon this group of individuals who would shine forth the righteous now is he saying the righteous are going to shine forth in heaven.

Oh, now finally, the world’s going to see who the righteous are. I don’t think that’s what he means. Think then instead about what Jesus said, Matthew chapter 24 and other passages is going to happen when he brought judgment on Israel. When the nation of Rome comes in and decimates, Jerusalem and tears down the, the, the temple and dismantles the entire Jewish religion,

because they can no longer prove who’s, who’s a Levis. Who’s, who’s from the tribe of Judah. Who’s a priest. Who’s not a priest that all of that’s gone. The entire structure is dismantled. But as we think from history, and as we look back at what we know from history, we remember that Jesus warned those who were righteous. When you see these things coming,

what were they supposed to do? Get out Josephus and others tell us that when Rome came and besieged the city, and then for a period of time relented and pulled back that every single Christian departed out of Jerusalem, every single person who was listening to Jesus, obedient to Jesus and had repented and change their ways exited the city. And yet city didn’t empty.

Those still, there were everyone else. So there’s a possibility and throw it up here as a third option. And I don’t have a problem with which ones you take, or if you choose option number four, but there’s a real possibility that the message Jesus is saying is these teachers, these individuals who claim to be my God, the father’s teachers, the scribes,

the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the lawyers who are teaching you, how to disobeyed God, if you follow them, what did he say? The blind leading the blind. Who’s going to fall in the pit. Just the leaders, everybody they’re all gonna fall in the pit. They’re all going to be destroyed. They’re all going to receive the end, their destruction,

which is death. John chapter eight, Jesus speaks to the Jews. And he says, you are of your father, the devil. They said, we’re the children of Abraham. He said, no, you’re the father. You’re your, father’s the one. Who’s a liar from the beginning. Well, if their father is the devil, if we put that context here who sowed their seed,

Satan did. So just an alternative, an option here is Jesus may be speaking concerning the end of the Jewish, a age and the destruction of them as a nation. And yet the destruction in which his righteous ones would shine forth. It would be obvious and apparent who belonged to Christ because they heard and received. And no, babe. Okay. So throw that in there.

Let you chew on that for a little while. Let’s go back to verse 31, another parable, he put forth say the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds. But when it has grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.

Another parable, he spoke to them. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all, all 11. If this<inaudible> some questions here, like there often are with parables. What exactly is Jesus? Meaning? Because some of these, we have the explanation and we still have questions.

And some of them, we don’t have the XPLAN. We have the parable, Jesus describes a seed. That’s one of the smallest of seeds yet grows into a plant, grows into something larger than the herbs. We have the condoms next to the PA of the Levin Levin. Of course, when you take it, you put it inside the bread, you let it rise.

You let it there. It infects the entire loaf. Paul uses the illustration. When he’s talking about the sin in the church in Corinth, he says, if you allow sin to continue in the body of Christ, it’s going to infect the entire congregation, the entire assembly. We’ve got to pull it out. You’ve got to get rid of the sin,

but it would be interesting if Jesus is using leaven in a positive sense. It’s the only time in the new Testament that it’s used that way. If G is, is using Levin in the sense of those who are taking the seat, taking the word of God and spreading it, and they’re going to go throughout the entire world. It would be the only context,

probably, maybe in all of scripture, but at least in the new Testament where Levin is ever spoken of in a positive you sense because in scripture, Levin is always viewed as a corruption. That’s why the Israelites were told when you prepare for the fees, when you prepare for the Holy days, when you prepare for these things, you to do what sweep the house,

get all the 11 out. Every little leavening agent was an agent that changed and corrupted that, which was originally there, that’s the description. So I don’t have a problem with someone who understands it in a positive sense, but what if he’s speaking about sin in the, and the result of sin in the kingdom, then it would match the same use of Levin all throughout the new Testament.

Just a thought, okay. But either way, I think one of the things you definitely see in the mustard seed illustration is the growth. What Jesus would do with 12 disciples would result in a kingdom that would spread throughout the world. Let’s go down to verse 44. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which a man found and hid and for joy over it,

he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls who, when he had found one Pearl of great price when and sold all that he had and bought it. Now this, these two parables, it is of interest that quite often, these are used to describe the reaction of a person who seeking the truth,

finds the truth, finds the kingdom, the church, and enters into it, gives up everything necessary to obtain the kingdom. And that’s a perfectly valid explanation, but an alternative one that you might consider is what did God give up to purchase the kingdom? His only son, the price of the kingdom was the blood of Christ. The price of the church,

the purchasing of the church was done not by us, but by him. And here we see if we look at it from that perspective, the value that God places on his church, his kingdom. So there’s another parable verse 47. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a Dragnet, which was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind,

which when it was full, they drew to shore. They sat down and gathered the good into vessels and through the battle way. So it will be at the end of the age, the angels will come forth, separate the wicked from the just and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus said to them,

have you understood all these things? They said to him, yes, Lord. Then he said to them, therefore, every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old Jesus gives these illustrations, gives these parables, gives these throw besides these trues wrapped in these stories. And then he asked them,

do you understand these things? And they say, they do. I’m going to take them at their word because quite often they’ll say, Nope, but here they did. They got it. Now, part of the reason why I think they may have gotten it is four of them were what fishermen may were very familiar with this process. They knew how to handle this.

All right. Now we were out of the field. We can at least deal with some fish. We know how to deal with that. So they, they know the difference. They they’ve dragged the, the sea of Galilee before and gathered the fish in and taken the good fish and, and, and kept them and thrown the, the terrible fish,

whatever kinds of fish were bad and cast them aside. Okay. So here again, you’ve got judgment though. You’ve got a picture of judging and discerning between that, which is good and that which isn’t and all throughout the context, let’s go all the way back to the sermon on the Mount. Jesus said that, which is good. Or the one in the kingdom who is good as the one who does what does,

what God tells him to the one who hears and obeys. And the one who is evil, the one who is a fool, the one who will be judged as the one who hears and doesn’t obey. So all throughout this context, going all the way back to the sermon on the Mount, we’ve got this continual picture of God is going to judge.

Those who refuse to obey, and God is going to bless those who hear and keep his word. Okay. There is a Mark or Sarah Matthew chapter 13 verses 24 through 52. I don’t even know what context for it. You’ll have to forgive me. I’ve got Mark, Luke, Matthew and everything all confused this morning. So thank you for your attention will be dismissed to the horsepower<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Good morning and welcome to the Collierville church of Christ.

Sunday morning, worship service. It’s great to see each of you here, if you’re visiting with us. So we want you to know that you are our honored guest, and if he would give us just a few moments after the services over to let us have a moment or two to talk with you. And also if you would fill out a visitor’s card,

it’s on the Pew in front of you and hand it to one of us or leave it on the, on the Pew, we would appreciate it. And also, as you came in, if you haven’t picked up your Lord supper, it’s on the table, just as you walk in the door, big, good time to go get your a communion.

If you haven’t picked it up, we need to remember our sick Sheriff’s dad, ed Richardson. He’s as I understand, probably doing about the same Barbara Dillard is improving from her shoulder procedure. Dale’s friends, Ken and Frankie Phillips are recovering from COVID. The Cozort family errands, grandmother. Shirley Cozort is on hospice care. And Aaron is back with us. I think I understand that.

He’s probably going to go back again shortly here to be with her, but she’s hanging in there. Dorothy Wilson with her blood pressure problem has improved. And she’s going for an ultrasound and blood work to see about her stage three chronic kidney disease. And apparently she’s doing a little bit better and Rodale Wilson will have her older sound and the stress test this week.

Joan Springer. I got a message from Lisa this morning, and I see that Marie and his son are here. So we’ll get the straight story from then after church I’m sure, but she had a stint put in last week and Angie will plasty, but she has some problems with the swelling in the left ventricle of her heart. And she’ll be having some more tests today,

but she’s was improving this morning. According to Lisa Donnie Flanagan dies, brother is recovering from a hip surgery and he will be sent to rehab, hopefully sometime this early next week. Okay. Alena sharp, Shelley stacks, mother is on hospice care and she’s hanging in there. And Shelly told him that this morning she’d been 20 days without any food, but she’s still with us.

That’s all the sick that I’m aware of. Don’t forget our pantry items for the children or the potters children’s home. This month is shampoo. They will be here about the 15th of the month to pick up our commodities. And so if you’re kind of behind on that or something, keep that in mind for the first couple of weeks here. That’s all the announcements that I have our song later this morning will be North Olsen.

Michael Dale will have the opening prayer. Eric Halvorson will be siding over the Lord’s supper. Aaron has a sermon and Joe caisson has the closing prayer. Thank you for your attendance. Good morning. Our first song is going to be off. We come together. There’ll be on the slides, but not in the song. Book off would come together. We’re saying verses one,

two, and three, let us sing Off. We come to<inaudible> sing and pray. Aim here. We bring our offering this all the<inaudible>.<inaudible> mainly Alina Andrews. And<inaudible> the may. We<inaudible> all that Hass. And mainly, truly worship has me.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> to sing mainly Arlene truth and spirit where ship the may. We all,<inaudible> all<inaudible> take this.<inaudible> sing did by the lawn up to see Maley lane truth and spirit where she,

the, Our next song will be number 634. Number six, three, four we’ll work until Jesus comes. We’ll sing verses one, two and three. And after which brother Michael Dale will lead us an opening prayer number 634 We’ll work till Jesus comes all three verses, let us say, Hmm. Oh, Landa brass for the, I saw when, well,

the mom and when I chalet my arm or by and well and P side home, well<inaudible> well where Dell GS<inaudible> till Jesus comes and with being guided home to Jesus Christ died for RAs. He paid me cease to roar and leave or soccer on his breast until he gunned dog to me. Well<inaudible> jeez us comes, we’ll work till Jesus comps.

Well work till Jesus comes and will be a guy, either at home. I saw that once my safe VR side, no more, my staff shout wrong with him. Bred DAS, chilling tide, and reach my hand ni home. Well more<inaudible> well, till Jesus comes and will be a Geyser, Please bow with me, our father in heaven.

How awesome and Holy you are. We humbly bow before your throne this morning. And we thank you so much that you have given us this Avenue to be able to lift our voices and prayer to you and know that we are being heard. Father, we ask at this time that you’d be with all of those many that are ailing. Those that are those that have passed away their families.

And we ask that you put your comforting hand on them and, and help them to see that all is done to the glory of your name, father. We thank you so much for the opportunity that we have to come together and worship you in this country. And we ask that it continues on this path and that we can continue to serve you openly and take your word throughout this country without any roadblocks in our way.

And we thank you so much for everything you’ve blessed us with for the death of your son and in his, it is in his name. We pray, amen. Help prepare our minds for the Lord’s supper. We’re going to sing number 332 for 332 lead me to Calvary. We’ll sing the first, second and fourth verses number 332 lead me to Calvary listen,

King of my life. I crowning nine chow. The chlorine being last I four, and I thought one ground Brown lead me to kind of a three last<inaudible> money.<inaudible> money.<inaudible> for me, laid me to kowtow the three. Show me the tomb where<inaudible> tender the Marne and where angels and robes.<inaudible> the Wells<inaudible> money. Last<inaudible> gunny<inaudible> for me,

they made me to<inaudible> may I be willing to<inaudible> day the, my Crosse for the he then grieve<inaudible> high score and all for me,<inaudible> money.<inaudible> money<inaudible> mean laid me to Rory. At this time, we’d like to take an opportunity to thank God for the ultimate sacrifice that he and his son Jesus did for us. And that was to die on the cross for us to center.

Join me as we pray for the bread, God, our father in heaven, we come to you at this time, thanking you for the sacrifice that you made of sending your son Jesus here to live on earth with us to teach us, but ultimately for him to commit himself to that cross and let his body hang on that cross until he died for us.

The center, we pray this through your son, Jesus name. Amen. Thanks for the fruit of the vine God, our father in heaven, we come to you thanking you again for your son, Jesus. And as we prepare to partake of this fruit of the vine, help us to remember that it represents the blood that Jesus shed for us, the center on that cross of Calvary so that our sins may be forgiven so that we may have that opportunity to live with you in eternity.

In heaven, we pray this through your son, Jesus name, amen. Take this opportunity to do, ask for blessings on the offering. God, our father in heaven. We come to you again, thanking you because we truly understand that everything we have is from you and through you. And we cannot thank you enough for the material blessings that we have here on earth.

And as we prepare to give back a portion of these, that we’ve been so richly blessed with, we ask that you help each and every one of us do it with a cheerful heart. And we also ask that you help the men who oversee the funds here at the Collierville church of Christ, ensure that these funds are used in such a way to better your kingdom here on earth.

We pray this through your son, Jesus name, amen. You’re using a songbook this morning. If you want to Mark number 904 Will be the song limitation following or their errands lesson. Okay? The song before the lesson would be number 853, and we all get to heaven. We’re eight five, three. We’ll sing the first three verses of the song.

We all get to heaven. Let us say, seeing no Andress love of jeez, seeing his mercy and his grace and mansions bride and bless and prepare for a blaze.<inaudible> what a day of rain joys saying that<inaudible> the, wow. We walk up Pilgrim pathway clouds, Willow spread the sky mud man drive lane days are over. Nah,<inaudible> man.

We get to have what a damn rain joining that little beam. When we see Jesus we’ll sing,<inaudible> let us then be true and faithful, trusting, serving every day. Just one glimpse of<inaudible> when we all get to and what a day of rain Joy’s saying that well being when we see GS swill seeing<inaudible> Good morning, it is good to be here.

It is good to be home. It’s good to see each and every one of you, couple of things that I want to take care of before we get into the lesson. Number one, sister, Dorothy Wilson called me last night and said, even though that she was not going to be able to be here this morning, she did want to call me and have me express for her,

her desires for the prayers of the church. Her request was that she desired that our prayer be that there is nothing between her and God and that she doesn’t know how long she has in this life. But when this life is over, she wants to be ready whenever that day is. And so we’re going to take a moment and we’re going to pray on sister Dorothy’s behalf,

bow your Heads, Great and gracious, merciful, and caring father in heaven. We bow our heads and our hearts at this time, lifting up our sister, Dorothy, to you, praying that if there is any sin, if there is anything in her life that is between you and her, that it will be forgiven. We know that we each and every one of us have struggles and difficulties,

but we also have confidence and assurance in the blood of Christ that cleanses all sins. For those who are willing to continually seek that cleansing, that repentance and walk in the light. As you were in the light, we pray for sister Dorothy and the upcoming tests and, and procedures that she has, that she will have comfort and strength in those as well.

And that we each might learn from her example to seek help, to seek the care and the thoughts and the prayers of the church as we need them. And that we might always look to you for that mercy and grace that we need in time of need all this. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Also want to give just a brief update on my grandmother.

She is, as was mentioned, she is at home. She’s under hospice care. They’re coming out once or, or once every day or two, depending upon as needed. But primarily my uncle who lives with my grandmother and has for the last about 10 years is, is taking care of her. And then my parents live right there nearby. And so they’re helping with that as well.

My brother’s wife is down and staying with my parents and helping. And then the rest of us are, are supporting in those needs. So keep us in your prayers. As was mentioned, we will be traveling back this week. So Kiva is in your prayers, both in traveling and in her needs. We appreciate that very much. And it is very much something that we count on on a daily basis.

The importance of prayer, Jesus, we read, Read in Luke chapter 11 and verse one came to pass. As he was praying in a certain place. When he ceased, one Of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray. Notice there. They said, teach us to pray. As John also taught his disciples to pray, It seems From this context that John,

when John the Baptist was preaching and teaching before Jesus began his ministry, that those disciples who had followed him had asked very much the same thing. And John had taught his disciples how to pray. And so Jesus’s disciples come to him and they say, teach us to pray. I believe every new Christian at some Point Has reached a time in their lives where they said into themselves,

maybe publicly, maybe privately, but predominantly privately. I need to pray better. I need to do better in my prayers. I need to pray deeper. I need to be more thoughtful. I need to, I need to be more forthcoming with God in my life. And that’s a good desire. The disciples will ask this of Christ. And we re if we turn over to Luke chapter 11 and verse one,

we’ll see there that Jesus responds to them. Verse two, when you pray, say our father in heaven, hallowed, be your name, your kingdom, come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day, our daily bread and forgive us our sins. As we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us and do not lead us into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one. Now Jesus, here, we’ll present to them. What some have termed the model prayer. It is short. It is concise. It is to the point. And yet he exemplifies in it. Many of the basic needs and functions of prayer. Prayer is to be that which we use in order to seek those things that we need.

It is also to be that, which we use to praise and recognize God for all that he has done. Notice Jesus began our father in heaven. Prayer is also supposed to express a relationship that we have. And yet we see in all of this, This prayer’s importance. We’re not going to stay necessarily in this context, but we’re going to go to a few other contexts throughout scripture.

And we’re going to notice the importance of prayer beginning first with the fact that this is God’s chosen method for man to communicate to him. Now, this is not prayer. That is, is not God’s chosen method for him to communicate to us. And we need to be clear on that. We do not sit down to pray. We do not go into a closet to pray.

We do not come public leave before an assembly to pray so that God might speak to us. We do not pray. And then Wade for a small, still voice to answer us, we do not pray. And imagine that in some moment of time, in some flash or blink of the eye, God will miraculously present an answer that is not the function of prayer.

Instead, the function of prayer is God’s chosen method for man to communicate to him, turn with me. If you will, to Philippians chapter four. As Paul writes to the church at Philippi, he writes to these brethren, as he is sitting in a Roman prison, he writes to them as he is in chains and in bonds and in persecution. And yet they are in a good place at the time.

And he writes to them in chapter four, beginning in verse six, he says, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. We’re going to notice first a number of aspects of this, but we want to notice first and foremost, in the overarching view of this, that prayer is a powerful Course in Daniel.

We read in Daniel chapter four, As Nebuchadnezzar has come to a place where he looks out at his kingdom and he looks out at all that he’s done and looks out at all that he’s built. And he begins To Pat himself on the back at all that he’s accomplished God through. Daniel will make it clear, to never can answer that the God most high rules in the kingdom of men and gives to whomever he will.

Those positions of power. We live in a society that, Yeah, In somewhat of our own, conceitedness believes that we have conjured up a way to control who has power Or in our world. And Yet we in our own Fallacy May be in the same situation as Nebuchadnezzar, where we believe that we have designed the method whereby we choose Who rules in the kingdoms of men,

whether they Be in our, the actions of our government or our society or the governments around the world, as they seek to overthrow one ruler and put a new one in its Place to change The policies and the functions of one nation by putting someone else in charge. And yet the reality is when we look at what scripture says, God makes it clear,

no matter who sits on the throne, he’s in charge and Prayer is our Avenue of communicating to him. And I go through all of that to emphasize this singular point. What if you Today sitting, Being at your house had a phone that you could pick up and it only dialed one number. The moment you reached for it and dialed it. It only went to one place.

It was a direct line to the president of the United States. Now whether you like the person in office or not, the reality is the position. The office has power that comes with it. And if you have a direct line to that office, guess what? You have Power. If you Call that number and it goes through, and the first thing that happens is he’s right here.

We’ll put him on the phone. Then You have a line of communication That has power. But now Let us understand that when we bow our knee in prayer, when we bow our head in prayer, when we bow our heart and our mind in prayer and pray to God in humility, and he hears those prayers, we are speaking to someone who has infinitely more power than the man who sits in the White house.

And unlike the man who sits in the white house in four or eight years, Still be there. So we understand that prayer has power. Paul calls upon these brethren to pray. And he says in everything by prayer and supplication, that his request with Thanksgiving make or let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ.

Jesus, let us notice a few things. The power of prayer, first and foremost, from Luke chapter 11, verses nine through 11. Prayer has the power to make requests known of the God. Jesus has. He gives that example prayer. And then as he continues in that discussion concerning asking God for what we need, whosoever asks shall receive who,

whoever seek shall find whoever knocks the doors will be open to him as he illustrates this. He makes it clear to us that prayer has power to make requests. There are people in this life who, you know, who Are close friends of yours, that, you know, if you have a good relationship with them, that if you pick up the phone and say,

so-and-so, I need, you can Fill in the blank. And if it is in their power to do it, They’ll do it. And it is The blessing to have people like that in your life. It is a blessing in times of need that you can reach out to someone and say, I need help And you’ll get it. And yet God says that When we have needs,

that is exactly what we’re here to do. We are to seek his help. So then we might ask for what should we pray if we have a mode of communication, if we have a means and a method of communication that has such great power with great power comes great responsibility. We need to be careful how we use it. So then for what should we pray?

Let’s begin in James chapter five, James chapter five beginning in verse 13, we read is any among you suffering. Let Him pray. Is anyone Cheerful? Let him sing. Psalms. One of the things that we are to pray for, one of the things that the Bible specifically tells us to pray for is to pray for those who are sick. And even for the one who is sick to pray for themselves.

We also notice if we continue down verse 14, if anyone among you is sick, let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him. Notice it’s not just the one who’s sick, who has to pray, but also the church is to be praying for the one who is sick, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

And the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much notice. Not only are we to pray for those who are sick, but we are to pray for those who need forgiveness.

We, When we are in need of forgiveness are to pray. We read over in the book of acts where Simon the sorcerer would ask or would seek to buy the gifts of the Holy spirit and the ability to infer or convey gifts of the Holy spirit. And he asked that and, and, and seeks that of, of Peter and Peter will tell him he needs to repent and pray that the wickedness of his heart will be forgiven him.

So prayer for forgiveness of sins is another thing that we are to pray for. But also we are to pray confessing and asking forgiveness for our own sins, not just praying for others. We are also to pray for wisdom. If we turn over to James chapter one, James begins his a pistol, his letter, James, a bond servant of God,

and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes, which are scattered abroad. My brethren counted all joy. When you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, but let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach.

And it will be given to him here. James also points out as he discusses at the end of the book, the need for praying, for those who are sick, the need for praying, for those who need forgiveness, that he also says we are to pray for Wisdom, but careful, Cause you might get the answer Of getting wisdom. And yet you No what proceeded that,

right? Right. Before you got wisdom, you got trials and tribulations. My mother has said on numerous occasions, I prayed for wisdom once and I got three children. She said, I didn’t pray for it anymore. But in all seriousness prayer has power to make requests to God and Ephesians chapter six, As Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus,

as he is closing out his letter to this church, he will say to them beginning in verse 18, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful to this end, that with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints and for me, that utterance may be given to me and that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains that in it,

I may speak boldly. As I ought to speak. One of the things that we are to pray for is the spreading of the gospel and those who are doing it, that they might have boldness that they might have a willingness to speak no matter what, But something we need to be mindful of As we pray. And this doesn’t need to be a cause of hesitancy.

This doesn’t need to be something that we hold back our prayers because of it needs to be something that motivates us to pray is that when we pray for something on a daily basis, when we pray for something, we also are reminding ourselves to put forth effort toward that Thing. What if you were to pray, Lord, I need a better job. I needed a job that better supports my family.

I need a job that better pays the bills that we, we, we have needs and things that we can’t handle. I need a better job, but then you never look for a job, but you go on day after day, praying for a better job what’s missing in the equation. Your request has been made known, but your action doesn’t match your request.

You see James and James chapter one further discusses. The not only the request that we need to make to God, but also the faith we are to have that God can fulfill that request. But if we have faith that God will fulfill the request, we act on that faith. We need to be careful that we don’t pray Without having faith. That God will do what we have said.

But then also consider John chapter 12, excuse me, John chapter 17, John chapter 17, beginning in verse 20 Jesus as he is beginning or as he is concluding his prayer to God in the upper room. As he is about to go out to the garden of guests. So many, he is about to be betrayed. He is about to go to Who is deaf.

He prays for unity among those who follow him verses Plenty. I do not pray for these alone, the disciples, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one as you father are in me and I in you that they also may be one in us that the world may believe that you have sent me and the glory,

which you gave me. I have given them that they may be one just as we are one I in them and you and me, that they may be made perfect in one. And that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them. As you have Me father, I desire that they also, whom you gave me may be with me where I am,

that they may behold my glory, which you have given me for. You loved me before the foundation of the world. Jesus prays for unity among believers. And If we’re going to pray for unity among believers, then just like that last, where we need to pray and then act on that prayer. We need To seek unity among believers, but yeah,

Unity among believers must always be predicated upon obedience to The word of God. We do Not pray for nor seek unity as some have called it in diversity, unity in our differences, unity in our separate beliefs, unity in separate denomination. Oh, we are to seek unity by returning Burning to the word of God and holding fast To it alone as the standard of authority in practice and in worship,

but then consider as well. Prayer has the power to deliver us From temptation. Jesus would tell his disciples in Matthew chapter 26, is there there in that garden? Not long after he told them or he prayed for unity, he tells them to wait a little while. And then as they’re waiting, he will tell them to pray and watch that they enter not into temptation.

Prayer has the ability to help us come bat temptation, and we need to be careful and observe to do exactly that. So pray for ourselves that we avoid temptation, but also prayer has the power to grant us the peace of God. If you turn your minds back over to the Philippians chapter four, verse six and verse six through seven, Paul not only says with all diligence pray,

but he also says, and the peace of God, what’s he saying? He says that prayer begins. The peace continues that prayer, which starts is a, that which brings forth a peace that surpasses all understanding. Now, just as we observe that very idea, we understand that prayer has the ability to affect things that we do not Comprehend. There are things and aspects of this life that we do not see.

We do not feel we do not touch and yet they exist and can be affected, Did by prayer. And so we need to be diligent to understand the power of prayer, but then consider. Secondly, we need a Understand the conditions prayers must meet to be heard. See, it’s not enough for us to understand the power of prayer. If we are not meeting the conditions To have those prayers heard by God,

God does not say I will hear any requests made by anyone under any circumstance. For any reason, No King does that. And the King of Kings Lord of Lords, doesn’t do it either. So now let us notice a few of these conditions. First and foremost, they must be prayed by those who are Christians. Now there’s an interesting aspect of this,

that there are prayers which come before God, by those who are not Christians in that he observes their desire for obedience. We see over in the situation with Cornelius and the book of acts where his actions and his deeds and his desire for salvation were observed and came before God. And those prayers were answered. And yet there is a relationship that exists in general between God and his children by between God.

And those who are Christians that is different is separate from everyone else. One of the conditions of prayer is obedience to God, turn to John chapter nine, John chapter nine, beginning in verse 30.<inaudible>. This is in the situation where Jesus has healed a man on the Sabbath day. And the man has been brought before the council he’s been, his parents have been questioned first and they said,

well, he’s of age, ask him because the council wants to know who healed you, who did this work on the Sabbath day? And so they will inquire with this man. And he will respond to them because they will accuse Jesus of being one who is doing wrong. And he says, verse 30, the man answered and said to them why this is a marvelous thing that you do not know where he is from this discussion of where Jesus originated,

where is power? Where is thorny originated? The man said, this is a marvelous thing that you don’t know where he’s from. And he says, he goes further to say yet he has opened my eyes. Now we know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his, will he hears him? Now,

this man gives an observation to the teachers, the council leaders of the synagogue. He says, we know this, we’re already settled on this. God hears those who obey him. God does not hear sinners who reject him, but we consider further as we go over to Matthew chapter seven, Jesus builds upon this very idea in Matthew chapter seven, beginning in verse 21,

where he says, not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven. But he who does the will of my father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, done many wonders in your name. And then I will declare to them.

I never knew you depart from me. You who practice lawlessness. If there is not first and obedience to God, there will not be a community Education with God. First, John chapter one, as John On his speaking and writing to these brethren about walking in the light as he is in the light, having fellowship with God as those who are his children,

he Rives to them and inverse, Or he said, As these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from him and declare to you that God is light. And in him is no darkness. Yes, at all. If we Say that we have fellowship with him, we walk in and walk in darkness.

We lie and do not practice the truth. If we walk in the light, as he is the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ. His son cleanses us from all sins. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just forgive us our sins,

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar. And his word is not In us. John Emphasizes not only the need for us to pray to God, to confess our sins, but that our willingness to confess our sins has an impact on our fellowship With him. So we see that we must be careful about the conditions and our condition.

If we are Pray and hear, have our prayers heard. But we must also, as we’ve already mentioned, ask in faith. James tells those who he writes to that if they pray and yet do not have faith, that their prayer will be answered. Then their prayer won’t even be heard. Instead He calls them Double minded men. Those type of prayers are not heard.

And we also need to be mindful of the fact. There are things that hindered Our prayers, our relationships, my Hinder, our prayers, as Peter writes in first Peter chapter three, he says to those who were husbands, he says husbands, likewise dwell with them that his wives with understanding giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessels, as being heirs together of the grace of life.

And notice this phrase that your prayers may not be hindered our relationships with one another. How we treat one another, how we interact and handle one another. How we live together with one another affects Our prayers. Jesus, This makes it clear. As he speaks there in the sermon on the Mount, that if a person has odd against you and you’re going to worship God,

he says, you put your sacrifice down over there and you go deal with the problem you have with your brother first, because that sacrifice is going to do you no good. While you still have something against your brother. He says, you go deal with that first. Then you go take your sacrifice to God. Because as long as you are unwilling to resolve the problem with your brother,

God will be unwilling to resolve his problem with you. And we’re mindful again, of what Jesus said in the model. Prayer, forgive us, our debts. As we forgive Our debtors, if we will Forgive, Jesus makes it clear that he will not forgive. And so our relationships can hinder our prayers. If we turn over to verse 12 of that same chapter we read for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers.

But the face of the Lord is against those Who do evil sin in our lives will Keep our prayers from being heard. But there’s also another 0.1 worthy to be made. And that is from Luke chapter 18, Luke chapter 18, We read in verse one, Jesus spoke a parable to them that men ought always to pray and not lose heart. He says there was a certain city,

a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city and she came to him saying, get justice for me from my adversary. And he would not for a while, but afterward he said within himself though, I do not fear God nor regard man yet, because this widow has trouble or troubles me. I will avenge her less by her continual coming.

She weary me. Then Jesus said, hear what the unjust judge said and shall God not avenge his own elect, who cry out day and night to him though. He bears long with them. I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the son of man comes, will he really find faith on the earth? Jesus makes the point here in this parable,

that there is a need for persistence in prayer. There is not. And then are examples of this are abundant throughout scripture. There is not an example of us coming to God in prayer, seeking deliverance from some trouble. And then expecting that. The first time we ask is just going to magically be answered. That’s not what we see. We even see example after example,

Paul being one of them where repetition is involved. And sometimes still the answer is No, but a lack Of persistence. Mike, keep our prayers from being Answered. But then just as we close some examples of where we should pray Because throughout scripture, there are numerous examples of where and in what times and places we should pray. We notice first and foremost,

that Christ prayed in public. He prayed in pie, private. He prayed in the wilderness. He prayed on a mountain. He prayed in the garden. Jesus, as our example of prayer throughout his time on this earth shows us that prayer is just to be an every day aspect of our lives. Daniel we see in Daniel chapter six is praying in his house.

He is observing something from the old Testament, from the law and from the covenant that Solomon makes with God and the children of Israel there as the temple is being established, that when those who had been taken away from the land of Israel, those who have been taken into captivity because of their sin, because of their wickedness, because of their failure to obey God,

when they would look back towards that temple and pray towards that temple, the covenant was that God would hear them. So we find Daniel and Daniel chapter six, as he is there in Babylon, praying to God in accordance with that covenant, we find Paul and Silas, as they’re in prison, singing and praying at midnight, they could have been sleeping or trying to in their chains.

But the reality was they knew there was something more important for them to be doing something more impactful for them to be doing. And so, instead of trying to sleep, instead of trying to, you know, just forget about the situation they were in for awhile, they were taking the situation that they were in to the one who could do something about God,

David Psalm chapter three will prey on the battlefield. Stephen will pray while being stoned to death. Jonah, we’ll pray Probably in one of the most unique places in all history From the belly of a fish, but always, always the prayer is to be that which is coming from a humble heart. Coming from an understanding that God’s will, is what must be done.

And that sometimes That won’t work out for us the way we think Will Paul Writes to Timothy and says, I would that men pray Everywhere, Lifting up Holy hands without running And doubting. As we look at these things we need We’d understand. We’ve seen the power of prayer, the conditions prayers must meet and where we should pray. We’ve seen that without prayer,

we cannot have peace With God or the peace of God Without being a child of God. God will not hear Our prayers, but we also understand that to be a child of God, we must Must be born again by the power of the word of God, by the spirit of God, by coming into contact with the blood of Jesus Christ, which occurs in baptism,

Romans chapter six, verses three through four, We cannot pray. And I think our prayers will be answered if we pray Covered in our sins With only our sins to represent us before God. One of the Things that the scripture makes clear about prayer is that if we are going to pray and if we are going to pray the way we ought, we are going to pray with an advert Kit on our side,

Jesus Christ, the righteous Jesus Christ, the high priest, Jesus Christ, the mediator. And if we, We are going to have him as our advocate, it begins first with us.<inaudible> to him As a member of the body of Christ, you have access Yes to God and we owe so much needed and we should be using it. And we must understand it To the ability and the extent of our human mind to understand it.

And we must Just have faith in its ability to change today, tomorrow and forever. If you have need of the power of prayer, that can be something that is made available to you today. Whether by responding to the invitation, as one who is faithful, one who is righteous and yet has needs that have not been expressed or as one who has fallen away and has a need for forgiveness.

James says the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. And the prayers of those who are righteous, cover a multitude of sins or as one who’s outside the body of Christ and needs to put Christ on in baptism having then access to pray to your heavenly father. All these things can be made available to you today. If you have need of the power of prayer,

why not come now? As we stand in, as we sing<inaudible> are you fully trusting? And his grace is a car you washed and the blonde, the lamb<inaudible>. And so cleansing<inaudible> or your Gorman spotless, are they wide ass know, are you are washed in the blood of the lamb? Are you walking day? The, by the savior side,

are you washed in the blood of the lamb? Do you resting each moment? And the crucified are you wash and<inaudible> are you in blah? And the so cleansing<inaudible> are your garments spotless? Are they wide ass? No. Are you all washed in the blood of the<inaudible> lay a side, the garments that stained with sin and been washed in the blood of the lamb.

There’s a fountain flowing for the so clean. Oh, being washed and blah, are you stand up? And so cleansing<inaudible><inaudible> garments spotless. Are they white? A yes, no. Are you a washed in the blood of the lamb? Right? Our closing song for this morning, excuse me. For this morning, he was going to be number 867,

eight, six seven to Canaan’s land. I’m on my way. We’ll sing the first verse and then we’ll have our closing prayer at eight, six, seven, the Canaan Canaan’s land I’m on my way to Kane and land I’m on my way where the so never a nice my dark as night. Well, turn to dang where the so never a guys,

no side<inaudible> no<inaudible> where<inaudible> and the so never, It was about our God and our father in heaven. It is truly a privilege that we have to come before you and ask you father to continue to watch over us. And thank you father for loving us so much and your precious son dying on the cross of Calvary, that we might have that hope of eternal life with the in heaven father,

we’re mindful of the many that are ill of this congregation, as well as others outside the church and not a part of this body here. We pray father that you help us each day, that we remember them often in our prayers and that we fervently asked that you be with them and those that are ministering to them, that they might regain their health while we’re also mindful of those that are struggling spiritually.

And we pray father that we, as your children might reach out to them and try to encourage them and help them any way that we can. That we’ve mentioned them often in prayer to you, that you will continue to watch over them and bless them. And as they go through life that they, their hearts might be softened, that they want to come back to you and serve you as a faithful child of yours.

Father help us to not take prayer for granted, but realized that we must use it every day of our lives to try to draw closer to you and to try to overcome the things that sometimes come before us and this lie, we might be able to be better servants in the kingdom that we might be more effective, not only in this community, but in our nation and in the world.

We pray father that we take this lesson and we let it strengthen us that we would look to our lives first and try to improve them. And we try to pray for others that might be struggling with various things in their lives while they we’re grateful for the time and the privilege we’ve had to come and worship you this day, we pray that has been acceptable.

And to you that we will take much from what we’ve learned today and what we’ve studied. It might strengthen our faith and that we might draw closer to you and to one another, help us to always be about trying to reach those that are outside your body with the gospel and strengthen us as we go through life that we might have that home and have him with the one day and Jesus,

we pray. Amen.

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01-31-2021 – Live Stream- Matthew 13:24-52 (Class) & The Importance of Prayer (Sermon)

In Bible Classes Videos, Jesus, Live Streams, Sermons, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

01-31-2021 – LIVE – Matthew 13:24-52 (Class) & The Importance of Prayer (Sermon)
Speaker: Aaron Cozort
Collierville Church of Christ
575 Shelton Road, #Collierville, TN

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible> Good morning. I told you he turned knobs. You can probably turn it down a little bit.<inaudible> I think Mike had got loose in the booth. Okay. We have a few lessons worth of questions to catch up on three as if I’m correct. And if not, we’ll catch up on more, but we’ll do that as we get started,

it is good to be home. My grandmother is still with us. She’s at home and we’ll make an announcement during the worship. Just going to give everybody an idea of where things are at. We will be headed back up some point this week, probably the first of this week. She didn’t have a good day yesterday. We haven’t heard how today’s gone yet.

So, but anyway, we appreciate your prayers and your thoughts and your willingness to allow us to, to be up there. Anybody who’s given at least 24 hour presence for someone who’s in, in that situation knows that takes quite a few people to be able to maintain for longer than a day or two. So we appreciate the, the extending of that courtesy.

All right, we are going to begin with a prayer and then we’ll get into a few of these questions. And if anybody needs a sheet of the questions there, of course they’re in the back. Let us pray. Our gracious heavenly father, We bow before you grateful for this day that you’ve blessed us with grateful for the love, the care and the concern that you have showed us each and every day by the sunshine and the rain by the nature that is around us and the universe that you’ve placed us in all these things that declare your glory and praise your existence.

We are so grateful for each and every one of them. And yet do not even fully comprehend all the things that you do for us on a daily basis. We’re mindful of those who are struggling with illness, with difficulty, with pain. We pray that they will have comfort. We pray that if possible, they will be returned to their health. We pray for all those who are caregivers and the extremely difficult job that they have in their own day to day lives.

We pray that you watch over this congregation may its works flourishing grow, may the things that we do be acceptable in your sight and sound and doctrine. And may we always strive to reach out to those around us, to be a helping hand, to be an encouragement and uplifting to those who are in need all this. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.

So Ava and I were talking about it. And we think that the last set of questions that we went over was two 46, which means we’re going to start with two 47. But if somebody says, otherwise we’ll start Further back. Yeah, But I think two 47 sounds about right. That would be Luke chapter 12 verses 22 through through Luke chapter 13,

verse nine. First question comes from Luke chapter 12, verses 24, 27, 28 and 31. Jesus discussed anxiety over food by telling how God feeds blank birds and specifically what, what kind of birds were mentioned? Ravens. Okay. Jesus discussed anxiety over clothing by telling how God clothed blank. The grass in Luke’s account Lily’s is, is what’s referenced in Matthew’s account.

The grass is what’s mentioned in Luke’s instead of being anxious, concerning food and clothing, we should seek blank kingdom of God. All right. Where did Jesus say? A person’s heart will be according to verse 34 where his treasure is according to verse 40 of chapter 12. What hour can we expect Jesus to return The hour? Do not expect Luke chapter 12 verses 47 and 48.

Yes or no. Does Jesus require greater service out of those with greater abilities and opportunities? Yes. Luke chapter 12, verse 51 through 53. How did Jesus say he would cause divisions in families?<inaudible> All right. Three against two, two against three father versus son, son versus father, mother versus daughter mother-in-law versus daughter-in-law daughter-in-law versus mother-in-law et cetera.

What did Jesus say? According to Luke chapter 13, verses three and five would happen to individuals who did not repent. They would perish. All right. Luke chapter 13, verses six through nine explained Jesus’ parable of the barren fig tree, which he used to further emphasize the need for repentance.<inaudible> What happens to something that doesn’t bear fruit, all right,

gets chopped down and cast it in the fire. Mark chapter four verses one through 29 quest lesson two 48, Mark chapter four verses one through 29.<inaudible> According to Mark chapter four, verse one. When preaching by the seashore, where did Jesus stand? Because of the large crowd. All right. In a boat loop, that’s supposed to be Mark chapter four,

Mark chapter four, verses three through eight in Jesus’ parable of the sower. What happened to the seed that fell by the road? All right. The birds came and devoured it. The seed that fell on the Rocky ground Sound okay. Sprang up, but then was withered by the heat of the day that heat of the sun, because it had no root seed that fell among the thorns.

All right. Spraying up, began to grow, but produced no fruit because it was choked out by the thorns. See that fell on the good soil. All right. Produce fruit in what capacities? 36, Steve. A hundred fold. Luke chapter four, verse 11. Yes or no. Did Jesus make a distinction in his teaching to his disciples and outside?

Did I say Luke again? Because I apparently a few of these. I forgot to change when I was converting the, the name Mark chapter four, verse 11 in explaining the meaning of the parable do. Now, now I’m reading the wrong one. Did Jesus make a distinction? Is in his teaching to his disciples and outsiders? The answer is yes.

And I think Yes, but it was really quiet. All right, Mark. Chapter four, verse 14 in explaining the meaning of the parable. Jesus said the sower, sows, the blank, the word Mark chapter four, verses 15 through 20 and explaining the meaning of the parable of the sower. What is the meaning of the ones who hear beside the road?

All right. Satan takes it away on the Rocky places. Say what? Okay. Okay. They receive it with gladness, but they have no root. And as we pointed out, they have no root in themselves is what the passage says among thorns. All right. Cares the world and the desires for other things, choke out the word and then Good ground.

All right. Receive it with gladness and bring forth fruit. Jesus said Mark. Chapter four, verses 21 and 22. Jesus said a lamb is brought to put a under APEC measure, be under a bed. See on a lampstand C On a lampstand. Jesus was referring to his teachings as the light of the lamp. Explain. Okay. There’s nothing,

Nothing hidden that won’t be revealed. And his teachings, The light. Okay. The light is the word of God. Yes. Mark chapter four, verse 27. Yes or no in Jesus’ parable. Did he say that the man knows when the seed he has sewn sprouts up and grows? No. Okay. 49, Matthew chapter 13 verses 24 through 52.

And this is our text for this morning, Matthew chapter 13, verses 24 through 52. All right. You get some, some Of these papers out of here. So I don’t get confused. Well, I mean, any more confused than I always am. So, all right. Matthew chapter 13, beginning verse 24. Now, as we get into this bear in mind,

a few things. If you go back into the previous chapters, go back into verse or chapter 12, you’ve got the discussion that we’ve had previously. So that just kind of keeping Matthew’s context here. You’ve got Jesus who heals a man who is a mute and blind. He can’t see, he can’t speak, Jesus heals him and cast out the demon that was in him because he was demon possessed and the Pharisees and the scribes said he did it by what?

The power of Satan. Okay. In this context, we have already Matthew identifying that these individuals are so willing to confront and oppose Jesus, that they will witness a miracle. A man who was blind, who could see a man who couldn’t speak, who received the ability to speak the man who was demon possessed, who had that demon cast out, they would witness that.

And they would claim it was the power of Satan that did it. That’s how dead they were Against Jesus and against anything that he was in favor of and against any admittance that what he was teaching was True. We need to be careful when we come to a context, especially a context where Jesus says that the parables are being given to hide the truth from some and provide the truth to others.

We need to be careful to understand the situation She’s working. This isn’t how Jesus began teaching. Was it? I mean, we, You already covered Matthew chapters five through seven. How many parables There? None that was playing teaching That was confronting the error of their understanding of the old Testament. But now he’s beginning to reveal things concerning the kingdom. He’s beginning to take what the old Testament prophets told them about the kingdom and expound on It.

And in Doing so, he’s hiding the explanations from those who are unwilling To learn those Who are unwilling to hear the truth and believe it while revealing that same truth to those who would, I did hear it, learn it and believe it In the midst of the controversy, in the midst of the opposition, in the midst of, of the warfare and the onslaught from the scribes and the Pharisees who were seeking anything,

they could catch him in anything they could find to accuse him. Jesus packaged up these truths Into it Form. They couldn’t argue with, see one of the things about illustrations and stories when used properly is number one, they’re incorrect, Powerful. It is fun, Mentally true that we, we, as humans respond to stories. Here’s an example, man comes to a King and says,

there’s a man in your kingdom who was rich, had flocks and herds and abundance. And Someone was traveling from a far country and came to him and he decided he wanted to provide a feast for this man. So instead of going to his own flocks and his own herds and getting a lamb from his own flocks and herds, he goes, his neighbors Flock,

but his neighbors flock consists of one single you lamb. And that you lamb treated as a child. It, it was, it had all the, the care and love and concern its master could given. It was the only lamb he had. And yet this rich man comes and he takes that one little Ulam and he kills it and feeds his guest with it.

And the King responds, this man is going to die. We all know the story. This is the parable that Nathan gave to David. And the story provoked such a response as to bring about a death sentence from a King only to then be revealed to the King. Notice the hiding of truth than the revealing of truth. Nathan responds to David. You are the man.

Now there would be a number of times where the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the, the lawyers would identify themselves in the parable. They would know what it was Jesus was saying. And so would the people. And so it’s not always obscuring every aspect of the truth. Quite often, it’s revealing a part of the truth while also providing a further truth to those willing to hear.

Okay. So Jesus, as the master teacher, he was uses these things in the midst of opposition because it protected him insulated himself. And yet also provided clarity about those who opposed him. Verse 24 on there, another parable he put forth to them saying the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept,

his enemy came and sewed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have terrors? Okay. So VIN a landowner prepares his soil,

has his servants go out and sow seed he’s bought as it were the seed for reputable dealers. He’s, he’s gotten it from, from reputable sources. He paid for good seed. This story only slightly reminds me of the movie. If you’ve ever seen it, secondhand lions, if you’ve ever seen that movie, they, a traveling salesman comes out to these two guys,

these two older gentlemen and convinces them. They need to grow their own food. And he sells them all different kinds of seeds. You know, every pack in a dif different pack. This, this is tomatoes, and this is this, this is, this, this, this. And then they plant all of it. And in a little while they find out they have corn and corn and corn and corn,

and they have nothing but corn. Okay. So good seed that they didn’t identify the seed. And so the proper thing. So here, Jesus illustrates here’s this man who took care to sow good seed. He was careful to provide the right thing in the process. He wasn’t negligent. He wasn’t careless. He sowed good seed, but then his opponent,

his adversary, the one who sought to do him harm comes along in the night and sows tears. Now here in the illustration, we’ve got wheat and we’ve got tears. What is it that we understand to be true about these two plants as they’re beginning to grow? What do they look like? They look identical to each other. They, they have no real substantive difference in the growth process until you come to the bearing fruit process.

And then when harvest time comes, you begin to see the difference between the wheat and the tares. Now, someone as obviously the servants here who’s, who are closely and carefully inspecting, they notice the difference it’s to the, the person who’s just casually looking. They seem identical. Okay? But to the close inspection, you can tell the difference because they identify,

wait a minute, something’s wrong here. But then notice what we read. So servants of the owner came and said to him, verse 27, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares? He said to them, an enemy has done this. The servant said to him, do you want us then to go and gather them up?

So the servants asked the owner, do you want us to go and pull out the tailors, but notice the response. But he said, no less. You gather up the tares. You also uproot the wheat with them. The owner says in the growth process, you’ve because of what the adversary has done. You’ve got the wheat, its roots in tangled with the terrors roots.

You can’t pull up one without destroying at least some portion of the other. And he doesn’t want the, the wheats, the wheat destroyed. He wants it to grow and bear fruit. So notice his, his decision verse 30, let both grow together until the harvest. And at the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers first gathered together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them,

but gather the wheat into my barn. Jesus says this landowner, this farmer decides I’m not going to uproot the tares. Now I’m not going to pull them out while they’re still growing. I’m going to separate them at the harvest. But at that point, it will be obvious and clear to everyone. The difference between the two now, for the sake of discussion and continuity,

we’re actually going to skip down to verse 36 to the disciples, asking Jesus about this parable. Then we’ll come back up and deal with the next section, verse 36. And Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, explain to us the parable of the tares of the field he answered and said to them,

he who sows. The good seed is the son of man. The field is the world. The good seed are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who’s showed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age. And the reapers are the angels. Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire.

So what will be at the end of this age, the son of man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom, all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness and we’ll cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun and the kingdom of their father.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear. This is one of those parables where there is not consensus. Even though the explanation of Jesus is here. There’s not consensus on exactly how to apply it. I’ve known teachers and preachers who have understood this to be more specifically concerning the church, that there would be those within the body of Christ, living in the world,

who during the time that they’re in the world, they might appear to be those who are righteous, but not actually be. They might be hypocrites. They might appear to be those who are serving gone, but aren’t actually doing so. And that when the judgment comes, God’s going to know the difference. They’re not pulling the wool over God’s eyes, even though they may be pulling the wool over somebody else’s eyes.

And there may be an, and one of the valid and instructive in implications of that is there are individuals in times and situations in congregation where those who are shepherds, those who are elders, look at these individuals and go, I just don’t think they’re doing what they need to be doing. I don’t think they’re living the way they need to be living,

but they’re not blatantly departing from the truth. They’re not walking away. They’re, they’re not, they’re not forsaking the church in the sense of not showing up. They’re not assembling. They’re not worshiping. They’re not praising God. They’re not, they’re not doing any of those things. They’re literally departing Hebrews chapter 10, verse 25. They’re not doing that.

They’re still giving the signs of being those who are righteous, but something’s not right. And the lesson is sometimes it’s beyond the capability of the person or the human or the elder or the preacher or the teacher to determine that because they might think they’re getting a tear when all they’re really getting is a wheat that struggling and you rip out the wrong thing, and God says,

you’re doing something you shouldn’t be doing. And so the need to be careful in judging that we don’t destroy what belongs to God valid lesson. And I know some preachers, that’s where they land. I know others who look at this and say that particular implication of this, the particular instruction here is very similar to that. But instead of you, of the entire world,

that God knows those who belong to him and those who don’t. And we don’t have to worry about going through our entire lives judging who’s right, and who’s wrong, but God will judge. And the final day. And I think that’s an okay explanation. But I think actually both of them miss the immediate context when Jesus speaks concerning the end of the age,

when Jesus speaks concerning the world, when Jesus speaks concerning the judgment in this context, I don’t think he’s talking about the judgment there. All of this has set behind it, a context of the kingdom of God. Okay? And when Jesus speaks to the Jews about the kingdom of God, the Jews understood and including the disciples, understood him to be speaking concerning the kingdom that God would create.

When the Messiah came, that would be Israel and Israel’s kingdom that the restoration of their power, their presence, their physical kingdom would be what the promise was all about. And it wasn’t. But here’s the thing, as Jesus is teaching them concerning these things, as he is teaching them concerning the kingdom, he does specifically say, this is the world that revolves around the field though,

the term for world and the term for age, both have similar ideas. But I believe in this context, Jesus is specifically referencing the nation of Israel and what he would do in judging that nation. Think about it. As we go back into the old Testament prophets, as we go back into the old Testament age, you’ve got the prophets telling Israel,

you need to repent. You need to repent. You need to repent. You need to repent, or you will be judged and God will make sure his remnant is saved. You remember Habakkuk would tell Israel the just shall live by faith. And Jesus points out that at the end of the age, when God brings judgment upon this group of individuals who would shine forth the righteous now is he saying the righteous are going to shine forth in heaven.

Oh, now finally, the world’s going to see who the righteous are. I don’t think that’s what he means. Think then instead about what Jesus said, Matthew chapter 24 and other passages is going to happen when he brought judgment on Israel. When the nation of Rome comes in and decimates, Jerusalem and tears down the, the, the temple and dismantles the entire Jewish religion,

because they can no longer prove who’s, who’s a Levis. Who’s, who’s from the tribe of Judah. Who’s a priest. Who’s not a priest that all of that’s gone. The entire structure is dismantled. But as we think from history, and as we look back at what we know from history, we remember that Jesus warned those who were righteous. When you see these things coming,

what were they supposed to do? Get out Josephus and others tell us that when Rome came and besieged the city, and then for a period of time relented and pulled back that every single Christian departed out of Jerusalem, every single person who was listening to Jesus, obedient to Jesus and had repented and change their ways exited the city. And yet city didn’t empty.

Those still, there were everyone else. So there’s a possibility and throw it up here as a third option. And I don’t have a problem with which ones you take, or if you choose option number four, but there’s a real possibility that the message Jesus is saying is these teachers, these individuals who claim to be my God, the father’s teachers, the scribes,

the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the lawyers who are teaching you, how to disobeyed God, if you follow them, what did he say? The blind leading the blind. Who’s going to fall in the pit. Just the leaders, everybody they’re all gonna fall in the pit. They’re all going to be destroyed. They’re all going to receive the end, their destruction,

which is death. John chapter eight, Jesus speaks to the Jews. And he says, you are of your father, the devil. They said, we’re the children of Abraham. He said, no, you’re the father. You’re your, father’s the one. Who’s a liar from the beginning. Well, if their father is the devil, if we put that context here who sowed their seed,

Satan did. So just an alternative, an option here is Jesus may be speaking concerning the end of the Jewish, a age and the destruction of them as a nation. And yet the destruction in which his righteous ones would shine forth. It would be obvious and apparent who belonged to Christ because they heard and received. And no, babe. Okay. So throw that in there.

Let you chew on that for a little while. Let’s go back to verse 31, another parable, he put forth say the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds. But when it has grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.

Another parable, he spoke to them. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all, all 11. If this<inaudible> some questions here, like there often are with parables. What exactly is Jesus? Meaning? Because some of these, we have the explanation and we still have questions.

And some of them, we don’t have the XPLAN. We have the parable, Jesus describes a seed. That’s one of the smallest of seeds yet grows into a plant, grows into something larger than the herbs. We have the condoms next to the PA of the Levin Levin. Of course, when you take it, you put it inside the bread, you let it rise.

You let it there. It infects the entire loaf. Paul uses the illustration. When he’s talking about the sin in the church in Corinth, he says, if you allow sin to continue in the body of Christ, it’s going to infect the entire congregation, the entire assembly. We’ve got to pull it out. You’ve got to get rid of the sin,

but it would be interesting if Jesus is using leaven in a positive sense. It’s the only time in the new Testament that it’s used that way. If G is, is using Levin in the sense of those who are taking the seat, taking the word of God and spreading it, and they’re going to go throughout the entire world. It would be the only context,

probably, maybe in all of scripture, but at least in the new Testament where Levin is ever spoken of in a positive you sense because in scripture, Levin is always viewed as a corruption. That’s why the Israelites were told when you prepare for the fees, when you prepare for the Holy days, when you prepare for these things, you to do what sweep the house,

get all the 11 out. Every little leavening agent was an agent that changed and corrupted that, which was originally there, that’s the description. So I don’t have a problem with someone who understands it in a positive sense, but what if he’s speaking about sin in the, and the result of sin in the kingdom, then it would match the same use of Levin all throughout the new Testament.

Just a thought, okay. But either way, I think one of the things you definitely see in the mustard seed illustration is the growth. What Jesus would do with 12 disciples would result in a kingdom that would spread throughout the world. Let’s go down to verse 44. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which a man found and hid and for joy over it,

he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls who, when he had found one Pearl of great price when and sold all that he had and bought it. Now this, these two parables, it is of interest that quite often, these are used to describe the reaction of a person who seeking the truth,

finds the truth, finds the kingdom, the church, and enters into it, gives up everything necessary to obtain the kingdom. And that’s a perfectly valid explanation, but an alternative one that you might consider is what did God give up to purchase the kingdom? His only son, the price of the kingdom was the blood of Christ. The price of the church,

the purchasing of the church was done not by us, but by him. And here we see if we look at it from that perspective, the value that God places on his church, his kingdom. So there’s another parable verse 47. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a Dragnet, which was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind,

which when it was full, they drew to shore. They sat down and gathered the good into vessels and through the battle way. So it will be at the end of the age, the angels will come forth, separate the wicked from the just and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus said to them,

have you understood all these things? They said to him, yes, Lord. Then he said to them, therefore, every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old Jesus gives these illustrations, gives these parables, gives these throw besides these trues wrapped in these stories. And then he asked them,

do you understand these things? And they say, they do. I’m going to take them at their word because quite often they’ll say, Nope, but here they did. They got it. Now, part of the reason why I think they may have gotten it is four of them were what fishermen may were very familiar with this process. They knew how to handle this.

All right. Now we were out of the field. We can at least deal with some fish. We know how to deal with that. So they, they know the difference. They they’ve dragged the, the sea of Galilee before and gathered the fish in and taken the good fish and, and, and kept them and thrown the, the terrible fish,

whatever kinds of fish were bad and cast them aside. Okay. So here again, you’ve got judgment though. You’ve got a picture of judging and discerning between that, which is good and that which isn’t and all throughout the context, let’s go all the way back to the sermon on the Mount. Jesus said that, which is good. Or the one in the kingdom who is good as the one who does what does,

what God tells him to the one who hears and obeys. And the one who is evil, the one who is a fool, the one who will be judged as the one who hears and doesn’t obey. So all throughout this context, going all the way back to the sermon on the Mount, we’ve got this continual picture of God is going to judge.

Those who refuse to obey, and God is going to bless those who hear and keep his word. Okay. There is a Mark or Sarah Matthew chapter 13 verses 24 through 52. I don’t even know what context for it. You’ll have to forgive me. I’ve got Mark, Luke, Matthew and everything all confused this morning. So thank you for your attention will be dismissed to the horsepower<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Good morning and welcome to the Collierville church of Christ.

Sunday morning, worship service. It’s great to see each of you here, if you’re visiting with us. So we want you to know that you are our honored guest, and if he would give us just a few moments after the services over to let us have a moment or two to talk with you. And also if you would fill out a visitor’s card,

it’s on the Pew in front of you and hand it to one of us or leave it on the, on the Pew, we would appreciate it. And also, as you came in, if you haven’t picked up your Lord supper, it’s on the table, just as you walk in the door, big, good time to go get your a communion.

If you haven’t picked it up, we need to remember our sick Sheriff’s dad, ed Richardson. He’s as I understand, probably doing about the same Barbara Dillard is improving from her shoulder procedure. Dale’s friends, Ken and Frankie Phillips are recovering from COVID. The Cozort family errands, grandmother. Shirley Cozort is on hospice care. And Aaron is back with us. I think I understand that.

He’s probably going to go back again shortly here to be with her, but she’s hanging in there. Dorothy Wilson with her blood pressure problem has improved. And she’s going for an ultrasound and blood work to see about her stage three chronic kidney disease. And apparently she’s doing a little bit better and Rodale Wilson will have her older sound and the stress test this week.

Joan Springer. I got a message from Lisa this morning, and I see that Marie and his son are here. So we’ll get the straight story from then after church I’m sure, but she had a stint put in last week and Angie will plasty, but she has some problems with the swelling in the left ventricle of her heart. And she’ll be having some more tests today,

but she’s was improving this morning. According to Lisa Donnie Flanagan dies, brother is recovering from a hip surgery and he will be sent to rehab, hopefully sometime this early next week. Okay. Alena sharp, Shelley stacks, mother is on hospice care and she’s hanging in there. And Shelly told him that this morning she’d been 20 days without any food, but she’s still with us.

That’s all the sick that I’m aware of. Don’t forget our pantry items for the children or the potters children’s home. This month is shampoo. They will be here about the 15th of the month to pick up our commodities. And so if you’re kind of behind on that or something, keep that in mind for the first couple of weeks here. That’s all the announcements that I have our song later this morning will be North Olsen.

Michael Dale will have the opening prayer. Eric Halvorson will be siding over the Lord’s supper. Aaron has a sermon and Joe caisson has the closing prayer. Thank you for your attendance. Good morning. Our first song is going to be off. We come together. There’ll be on the slides, but not in the song. Book off would come together. We’re saying verses one,

two, and three, let us sing Off. We come to<inaudible> sing and pray. Aim here. We bring our offering this all the<inaudible>.<inaudible> mainly Alina Andrews. And<inaudible> the may. We<inaudible> all that Hass. And mainly, truly worship has me.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> to sing mainly Arlene truth and spirit where ship the may. We all,<inaudible> all<inaudible> take this.<inaudible> sing did by the lawn up to see Maley lane truth and spirit where she,

the, Our next song will be number 634. Number six, three, four we’ll work until Jesus comes. We’ll sing verses one, two and three. And after which brother Michael Dale will lead us an opening prayer number 634 We’ll work till Jesus comes all three verses, let us say, Hmm. Oh, Landa brass for the, I saw when, well,

the mom and when I chalet my arm or by and well and P side home, well<inaudible> well where Dell GS<inaudible> till Jesus comes and with being guided home to Jesus Christ died for RAs. He paid me cease to roar and leave or soccer on his breast until he gunned dog to me. Well<inaudible> jeez us comes, we’ll work till Jesus comps.

Well work till Jesus comes and will be a guy, either at home. I saw that once my safe VR side, no more, my staff shout wrong with him. Bred DAS, chilling tide, and reach my hand ni home. Well more<inaudible> well, till Jesus comes and will be a Geyser, Please bow with me, our father in heaven.

How awesome and Holy you are. We humbly bow before your throne this morning. And we thank you so much that you have given us this Avenue to be able to lift our voices and prayer to you and know that we are being heard. Father, we ask at this time that you’d be with all of those many that are ailing. Those that are those that have passed away their families.

And we ask that you put your comforting hand on them and, and help them to see that all is done to the glory of your name, father. We thank you so much for the opportunity that we have to come together and worship you in this country. And we ask that it continues on this path and that we can continue to serve you openly and take your word throughout this country without any roadblocks in our way.

And we thank you so much for everything you’ve blessed us with for the death of your son and in his, it is in his name. We pray, amen. Help prepare our minds for the Lord’s supper. We’re going to sing number 332 for 332 lead me to Calvary. We’ll sing the first, second and fourth verses number 332 lead me to Calvary listen,

King of my life. I crowning nine chow. The chlorine being last I four, and I thought one ground Brown lead me to kind of a three last<inaudible> money.<inaudible> money.<inaudible> for me, laid me to kowtow the three. Show me the tomb where<inaudible> tender the Marne and where angels and robes.<inaudible> the Wells<inaudible> money. Last<inaudible> gunny<inaudible> for me,

they made me to<inaudible> may I be willing to<inaudible> day the, my Crosse for the he then grieve<inaudible> high score and all for me,<inaudible> money.<inaudible> money<inaudible> mean laid me to Rory. At this time, we’d like to take an opportunity to thank God for the ultimate sacrifice that he and his son Jesus did for us. And that was to die on the cross for us to center.

Join me as we pray for the bread, God, our father in heaven, we come to you at this time, thanking you for the sacrifice that you made of sending your son Jesus here to live on earth with us to teach us, but ultimately for him to commit himself to that cross and let his body hang on that cross until he died for us.

The center, we pray this through your son, Jesus name. Amen. Thanks for the fruit of the vine God, our father in heaven, we come to you thanking you again for your son, Jesus. And as we prepare to partake of this fruit of the vine, help us to remember that it represents the blood that Jesus shed for us, the center on that cross of Calvary so that our sins may be forgiven so that we may have that opportunity to live with you in eternity.

In heaven, we pray this through your son, Jesus name, amen. Take this opportunity to do, ask for blessings on the offering. God, our father in heaven. We come to you again, thanking you because we truly understand that everything we have is from you and through you. And we cannot thank you enough for the material blessings that we have here on earth.

And as we prepare to give back a portion of these, that we’ve been so richly blessed with, we ask that you help each and every one of us do it with a cheerful heart. And we also ask that you help the men who oversee the funds here at the Collierville church of Christ, ensure that these funds are used in such a way to better your kingdom here on earth.

We pray this through your son, Jesus name, amen. You’re using a songbook this morning. If you want to Mark number 904 Will be the song limitation following or their errands lesson. Okay? The song before the lesson would be number 853, and we all get to heaven. We’re eight five, three. We’ll sing the first three verses of the song.

We all get to heaven. Let us say, seeing no Andress love of jeez, seeing his mercy and his grace and mansions bride and bless and prepare for a blaze.<inaudible> what a day of rain joys saying that<inaudible> the, wow. We walk up Pilgrim pathway clouds, Willow spread the sky mud man drive lane days are over. Nah,<inaudible> man.

We get to have what a damn rain joining that little beam. When we see Jesus we’ll sing,<inaudible> let us then be true and faithful, trusting, serving every day. Just one glimpse of<inaudible> when we all get to and what a day of rain Joy’s saying that well being when we see GS swill seeing<inaudible> Good morning, it is good to be here.

It is good to be home. It’s good to see each and every one of you, couple of things that I want to take care of before we get into the lesson. Number one, sister, Dorothy Wilson called me last night and said, even though that she was not going to be able to be here this morning, she did want to call me and have me express for her,

her desires for the prayers of the church. Her request was that she desired that our prayer be that there is nothing between her and God and that she doesn’t know how long she has in this life. But when this life is over, she wants to be ready whenever that day is. And so we’re going to take a moment and we’re going to pray on sister Dorothy’s behalf,

bow your Heads, Great and gracious, merciful, and caring father in heaven. We bow our heads and our hearts at this time, lifting up our sister, Dorothy, to you, praying that if there is any sin, if there is anything in her life that is between you and her, that it will be forgiven. We know that we each and every one of us have struggles and difficulties,

but we also have confidence and assurance in the blood of Christ that cleanses all sins. For those who are willing to continually seek that cleansing, that repentance and walk in the light. As you were in the light, we pray for sister Dorothy and the upcoming tests and, and procedures that she has, that she will have comfort and strength in those as well.

And that we each might learn from her example to seek help, to seek the care and the thoughts and the prayers of the church as we need them. And that we might always look to you for that mercy and grace that we need in time of need all this. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Also want to give just a brief update on my grandmother.

She is, as was mentioned, she is at home. She’s under hospice care. They’re coming out once or, or once every day or two, depending upon as needed. But primarily my uncle who lives with my grandmother and has for the last about 10 years is, is taking care of her. And then my parents live right there nearby. And so they’re helping with that as well.

My brother’s wife is down and staying with my parents and helping. And then the rest of us are, are supporting in those needs. So keep us in your prayers. As was mentioned, we will be traveling back this week. So Kiva is in your prayers, both in traveling and in her needs. We appreciate that very much. And it is very much something that we count on on a daily basis.

The importance of prayer, Jesus, we read, Read in Luke chapter 11 and verse one came to pass. As he was praying in a certain place. When he ceased, one Of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray. Notice there. They said, teach us to pray. As John also taught his disciples to pray, It seems From this context that John,

when John the Baptist was preaching and teaching before Jesus began his ministry, that those disciples who had followed him had asked very much the same thing. And John had taught his disciples how to pray. And so Jesus’s disciples come to him and they say, teach us to pray. I believe every new Christian at some Point Has reached a time in their lives where they said into themselves,

maybe publicly, maybe privately, but predominantly privately. I need to pray better. I need to do better in my prayers. I need to pray deeper. I need to be more thoughtful. I need to, I need to be more forthcoming with God in my life. And that’s a good desire. The disciples will ask this of Christ. And we re if we turn over to Luke chapter 11 and verse one,

we’ll see there that Jesus responds to them. Verse two, when you pray, say our father in heaven, hallowed, be your name, your kingdom, come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day, our daily bread and forgive us our sins. As we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us and do not lead us into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one. Now Jesus, here, we’ll present to them. What some have termed the model prayer. It is short. It is concise. It is to the point. And yet he exemplifies in it. Many of the basic needs and functions of prayer. Prayer is to be that which we use in order to seek those things that we need.

It is also to be that, which we use to praise and recognize God for all that he has done. Notice Jesus began our father in heaven. Prayer is also supposed to express a relationship that we have. And yet we see in all of this, This prayer’s importance. We’re not going to stay necessarily in this context, but we’re going to go to a few other contexts throughout scripture.

And we’re going to notice the importance of prayer beginning first with the fact that this is God’s chosen method for man to communicate to him. Now, this is not prayer. That is, is not God’s chosen method for him to communicate to us. And we need to be clear on that. We do not sit down to pray. We do not go into a closet to pray.

We do not come public leave before an assembly to pray so that God might speak to us. We do not pray. And then Wade for a small, still voice to answer us, we do not pray. And imagine that in some moment of time, in some flash or blink of the eye, God will miraculously present an answer that is not the function of prayer.

Instead, the function of prayer is God’s chosen method for man to communicate to him, turn with me. If you will, to Philippians chapter four. As Paul writes to the church at Philippi, he writes to these brethren, as he is sitting in a Roman prison, he writes to them as he is in chains and in bonds and in persecution. And yet they are in a good place at the time.

And he writes to them in chapter four, beginning in verse six, he says, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. We’re going to notice first a number of aspects of this, but we want to notice first and foremost, in the overarching view of this, that prayer is a powerful Course in Daniel.

We read in Daniel chapter four, As Nebuchadnezzar has come to a place where he looks out at his kingdom and he looks out at all that he’s done and looks out at all that he’s built. And he begins To Pat himself on the back at all that he’s accomplished God through. Daniel will make it clear, to never can answer that the God most high rules in the kingdom of men and gives to whomever he will.

Those positions of power. We live in a society that, Yeah, In somewhat of our own, conceitedness believes that we have conjured up a way to control who has power Or in our world. And Yet we in our own Fallacy May be in the same situation as Nebuchadnezzar, where we believe that we have designed the method whereby we choose Who rules in the kingdoms of men,

whether they Be in our, the actions of our government or our society or the governments around the world, as they seek to overthrow one ruler and put a new one in its Place to change The policies and the functions of one nation by putting someone else in charge. And yet the reality is when we look at what scripture says, God makes it clear,

no matter who sits on the throne, he’s in charge and Prayer is our Avenue of communicating to him. And I go through all of that to emphasize this singular point. What if you Today sitting, Being at your house had a phone that you could pick up and it only dialed one number. The moment you reached for it and dialed it. It only went to one place.

It was a direct line to the president of the United States. Now whether you like the person in office or not, the reality is the position. The office has power that comes with it. And if you have a direct line to that office, guess what? You have Power. If you Call that number and it goes through, and the first thing that happens is he’s right here.

We’ll put him on the phone. Then You have a line of communication That has power. But now Let us understand that when we bow our knee in prayer, when we bow our head in prayer, when we bow our heart and our mind in prayer and pray to God in humility, and he hears those prayers, we are speaking to someone who has infinitely more power than the man who sits in the White house.

And unlike the man who sits in the white house in four or eight years, Still be there. So we understand that prayer has power. Paul calls upon these brethren to pray. And he says in everything by prayer and supplication, that his request with Thanksgiving make or let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ.

Jesus, let us notice a few things. The power of prayer, first and foremost, from Luke chapter 11, verses nine through 11. Prayer has the power to make requests known of the God. Jesus has. He gives that example prayer. And then as he continues in that discussion concerning asking God for what we need, whosoever asks shall receive who,

whoever seek shall find whoever knocks the doors will be open to him as he illustrates this. He makes it clear to us that prayer has power to make requests. There are people in this life who, you know, who Are close friends of yours, that, you know, if you have a good relationship with them, that if you pick up the phone and say,

so-and-so, I need, you can Fill in the blank. And if it is in their power to do it, They’ll do it. And it is The blessing to have people like that in your life. It is a blessing in times of need that you can reach out to someone and say, I need help And you’ll get it. And yet God says that When we have needs,

that is exactly what we’re here to do. We are to seek his help. So then we might ask for what should we pray if we have a mode of communication, if we have a means and a method of communication that has such great power with great power comes great responsibility. We need to be careful how we use it. So then for what should we pray?

Let’s begin in James chapter five, James chapter five beginning in verse 13, we read is any among you suffering. Let Him pray. Is anyone Cheerful? Let him sing. Psalms. One of the things that we are to pray for, one of the things that the Bible specifically tells us to pray for is to pray for those who are sick. And even for the one who is sick to pray for themselves.

We also notice if we continue down verse 14, if anyone among you is sick, let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him. Notice it’s not just the one who’s sick, who has to pray, but also the church is to be praying for the one who is sick, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

And the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much notice. Not only are we to pray for those who are sick, but we are to pray for those who need forgiveness.

We, When we are in need of forgiveness are to pray. We read over in the book of acts where Simon the sorcerer would ask or would seek to buy the gifts of the Holy spirit and the ability to infer or convey gifts of the Holy spirit. And he asked that and, and, and seeks that of, of Peter and Peter will tell him he needs to repent and pray that the wickedness of his heart will be forgiven him.

So prayer for forgiveness of sins is another thing that we are to pray for. But also we are to pray confessing and asking forgiveness for our own sins, not just praying for others. We are also to pray for wisdom. If we turn over to James chapter one, James begins his a pistol, his letter, James, a bond servant of God,

and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes, which are scattered abroad. My brethren counted all joy. When you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, but let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach.

And it will be given to him here. James also points out as he discusses at the end of the book, the need for praying, for those who are sick, the need for praying, for those who need forgiveness, that he also says we are to pray for Wisdom, but careful, Cause you might get the answer Of getting wisdom. And yet you No what proceeded that,

right? Right. Before you got wisdom, you got trials and tribulations. My mother has said on numerous occasions, I prayed for wisdom once and I got three children. She said, I didn’t pray for it anymore. But in all seriousness prayer has power to make requests to God and Ephesians chapter six, As Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus,

as he is closing out his letter to this church, he will say to them beginning in verse 18, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful to this end, that with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints and for me, that utterance may be given to me and that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains that in it,

I may speak boldly. As I ought to speak. One of the things that we are to pray for is the spreading of the gospel and those who are doing it, that they might have boldness that they might have a willingness to speak no matter what, But something we need to be mindful of As we pray. And this doesn’t need to be a cause of hesitancy.

This doesn’t need to be something that we hold back our prayers because of it needs to be something that motivates us to pray is that when we pray for something on a daily basis, when we pray for something, we also are reminding ourselves to put forth effort toward that Thing. What if you were to pray, Lord, I need a better job. I needed a job that better supports my family.

I need a job that better pays the bills that we, we, we have needs and things that we can’t handle. I need a better job, but then you never look for a job, but you go on day after day, praying for a better job what’s missing in the equation. Your request has been made known, but your action doesn’t match your request.

You see James and James chapter one further discusses. The not only the request that we need to make to God, but also the faith we are to have that God can fulfill that request. But if we have faith that God will fulfill the request, we act on that faith. We need to be careful that we don’t pray Without having faith. That God will do what we have said.

But then also consider John chapter 12, excuse me, John chapter 17, John chapter 17, beginning in verse 20 Jesus as he is beginning or as he is concluding his prayer to God in the upper room. As he is about to go out to the garden of guests. So many, he is about to be betrayed. He is about to go to Who is deaf.

He prays for unity among those who follow him verses Plenty. I do not pray for these alone, the disciples, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one as you father are in me and I in you that they also may be one in us that the world may believe that you have sent me and the glory,

which you gave me. I have given them that they may be one just as we are one I in them and you and me, that they may be made perfect in one. And that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them. As you have Me father, I desire that they also, whom you gave me may be with me where I am,

that they may behold my glory, which you have given me for. You loved me before the foundation of the world. Jesus prays for unity among believers. And If we’re going to pray for unity among believers, then just like that last, where we need to pray and then act on that prayer. We need To seek unity among believers, but yeah,

Unity among believers must always be predicated upon obedience to The word of God. We do Not pray for nor seek unity as some have called it in diversity, unity in our differences, unity in our separate beliefs, unity in separate denomination. Oh, we are to seek unity by returning Burning to the word of God and holding fast To it alone as the standard of authority in practice and in worship,

but then consider as well. Prayer has the power to deliver us From temptation. Jesus would tell his disciples in Matthew chapter 26, is there there in that garden? Not long after he told them or he prayed for unity, he tells them to wait a little while. And then as they’re waiting, he will tell them to pray and watch that they enter not into temptation.

Prayer has the ability to help us come bat temptation, and we need to be careful and observe to do exactly that. So pray for ourselves that we avoid temptation, but also prayer has the power to grant us the peace of God. If you turn your minds back over to the Philippians chapter four, verse six and verse six through seven, Paul not only says with all diligence pray,

but he also says, and the peace of God, what’s he saying? He says that prayer begins. The peace continues that prayer, which starts is a, that which brings forth a peace that surpasses all understanding. Now, just as we observe that very idea, we understand that prayer has the ability to affect things that we do not Comprehend. There are things and aspects of this life that we do not see.

We do not feel we do not touch and yet they exist and can be affected, Did by prayer. And so we need to be diligent to understand the power of prayer, but then consider. Secondly, we need a Understand the conditions prayers must meet to be heard. See, it’s not enough for us to understand the power of prayer. If we are not meeting the conditions To have those prayers heard by God,

God does not say I will hear any requests made by anyone under any circumstance. For any reason, No King does that. And the King of Kings Lord of Lords, doesn’t do it either. So now let us notice a few of these conditions. First and foremost, they must be prayed by those who are Christians. Now there’s an interesting aspect of this,

that there are prayers which come before God, by those who are not Christians in that he observes their desire for obedience. We see over in the situation with Cornelius and the book of acts where his actions and his deeds and his desire for salvation were observed and came before God. And those prayers were answered. And yet there is a relationship that exists in general between God and his children by between God.

And those who are Christians that is different is separate from everyone else. One of the conditions of prayer is obedience to God, turn to John chapter nine, John chapter nine, beginning in verse 30.<inaudible>. This is in the situation where Jesus has healed a man on the Sabbath day. And the man has been brought before the council he’s been, his parents have been questioned first and they said,

well, he’s of age, ask him because the council wants to know who healed you, who did this work on the Sabbath day? And so they will inquire with this man. And he will respond to them because they will accuse Jesus of being one who is doing wrong. And he says, verse 30, the man answered and said to them why this is a marvelous thing that you do not know where he is from this discussion of where Jesus originated,

where is power? Where is thorny originated? The man said, this is a marvelous thing that you don’t know where he’s from. And he says, he goes further to say yet he has opened my eyes. Now we know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his, will he hears him? Now,

this man gives an observation to the teachers, the council leaders of the synagogue. He says, we know this, we’re already settled on this. God hears those who obey him. God does not hear sinners who reject him, but we consider further as we go over to Matthew chapter seven, Jesus builds upon this very idea in Matthew chapter seven, beginning in verse 21,

where he says, not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven. But he who does the will of my father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, done many wonders in your name. And then I will declare to them.

I never knew you depart from me. You who practice lawlessness. If there is not first and obedience to God, there will not be a community Education with God. First, John chapter one, as John On his speaking and writing to these brethren about walking in the light as he is in the light, having fellowship with God as those who are his children,

he Rives to them and inverse, Or he said, As these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from him and declare to you that God is light. And in him is no darkness. Yes, at all. If we Say that we have fellowship with him, we walk in and walk in darkness.

We lie and do not practice the truth. If we walk in the light, as he is the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ. His son cleanses us from all sins. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just forgive us our sins,

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar. And his word is not In us. John Emphasizes not only the need for us to pray to God, to confess our sins, but that our willingness to confess our sins has an impact on our fellowship With him. So we see that we must be careful about the conditions and our condition.

If we are Pray and hear, have our prayers heard. But we must also, as we’ve already mentioned, ask in faith. James tells those who he writes to that if they pray and yet do not have faith, that their prayer will be answered. Then their prayer won’t even be heard. Instead He calls them Double minded men. Those type of prayers are not heard.

And we also need to be mindful of the fact. There are things that hindered Our prayers, our relationships, my Hinder, our prayers, as Peter writes in first Peter chapter three, he says to those who were husbands, he says husbands, likewise dwell with them that his wives with understanding giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessels, as being heirs together of the grace of life.

And notice this phrase that your prayers may not be hindered our relationships with one another. How we treat one another, how we interact and handle one another. How we live together with one another affects Our prayers. Jesus, This makes it clear. As he speaks there in the sermon on the Mount, that if a person has odd against you and you’re going to worship God,

he says, you put your sacrifice down over there and you go deal with the problem you have with your brother first, because that sacrifice is going to do you no good. While you still have something against your brother. He says, you go deal with that first. Then you go take your sacrifice to God. Because as long as you are unwilling to resolve the problem with your brother,

God will be unwilling to resolve his problem with you. And we’re mindful again, of what Jesus said in the model. Prayer, forgive us, our debts. As we forgive Our debtors, if we will Forgive, Jesus makes it clear that he will not forgive. And so our relationships can hinder our prayers. If we turn over to verse 12 of that same chapter we read for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers.

But the face of the Lord is against those Who do evil sin in our lives will Keep our prayers from being heard. But there’s also another 0.1 worthy to be made. And that is from Luke chapter 18, Luke chapter 18, We read in verse one, Jesus spoke a parable to them that men ought always to pray and not lose heart. He says there was a certain city,

a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city and she came to him saying, get justice for me from my adversary. And he would not for a while, but afterward he said within himself though, I do not fear God nor regard man yet, because this widow has trouble or troubles me. I will avenge her less by her continual coming.

She weary me. Then Jesus said, hear what the unjust judge said and shall God not avenge his own elect, who cry out day and night to him though. He bears long with them. I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the son of man comes, will he really find faith on the earth? Jesus makes the point here in this parable,

that there is a need for persistence in prayer. There is not. And then are examples of this are abundant throughout scripture. There is not an example of us coming to God in prayer, seeking deliverance from some trouble. And then expecting that. The first time we ask is just going to magically be answered. That’s not what we see. We even see example after example,

Paul being one of them where repetition is involved. And sometimes still the answer is No, but a lack Of persistence. Mike, keep our prayers from being Answered. But then just as we close some examples of where we should pray Because throughout scripture, there are numerous examples of where and in what times and places we should pray. We notice first and foremost,

that Christ prayed in public. He prayed in pie, private. He prayed in the wilderness. He prayed on a mountain. He prayed in the garden. Jesus, as our example of prayer throughout his time on this earth shows us that prayer is just to be an every day aspect of our lives. Daniel we see in Daniel chapter six is praying in his house.

He is observing something from the old Testament, from the law and from the covenant that Solomon makes with God and the children of Israel there as the temple is being established, that when those who had been taken away from the land of Israel, those who have been taken into captivity because of their sin, because of their wickedness, because of their failure to obey God,

when they would look back towards that temple and pray towards that temple, the covenant was that God would hear them. So we find Daniel and Daniel chapter six, as he is there in Babylon, praying to God in accordance with that covenant, we find Paul and Silas, as they’re in prison, singing and praying at midnight, they could have been sleeping or trying to in their chains.

But the reality was they knew there was something more important for them to be doing something more impactful for them to be doing. And so, instead of trying to sleep, instead of trying to, you know, just forget about the situation they were in for awhile, they were taking the situation that they were in to the one who could do something about God,

David Psalm chapter three will prey on the battlefield. Stephen will pray while being stoned to death. Jonah, we’ll pray Probably in one of the most unique places in all history From the belly of a fish, but always, always the prayer is to be that which is coming from a humble heart. Coming from an understanding that God’s will, is what must be done.

And that sometimes That won’t work out for us the way we think Will Paul Writes to Timothy and says, I would that men pray Everywhere, Lifting up Holy hands without running And doubting. As we look at these things we need We’d understand. We’ve seen the power of prayer, the conditions prayers must meet and where we should pray. We’ve seen that without prayer,

we cannot have peace With God or the peace of God Without being a child of God. God will not hear Our prayers, but we also understand that to be a child of God, we must Must be born again by the power of the word of God, by the spirit of God, by coming into contact with the blood of Jesus Christ, which occurs in baptism,

Romans chapter six, verses three through four, We cannot pray. And I think our prayers will be answered if we pray Covered in our sins With only our sins to represent us before God. One of the Things that the scripture makes clear about prayer is that if we are going to pray and if we are going to pray the way we ought, we are going to pray with an advert Kit on our side,

Jesus Christ, the righteous Jesus Christ, the high priest, Jesus Christ, the mediator. And if we, We are going to have him as our advocate, it begins first with us.<inaudible> to him As a member of the body of Christ, you have access Yes to God and we owe so much needed and we should be using it. And we must understand it To the ability and the extent of our human mind to understand it.

And we must Just have faith in its ability to change today, tomorrow and forever. If you have need of the power of prayer, that can be something that is made available to you today. Whether by responding to the invitation, as one who is faithful, one who is righteous and yet has needs that have not been expressed or as one who has fallen away and has a need for forgiveness.

James says the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. And the prayers of those who are righteous, cover a multitude of sins or as one who’s outside the body of Christ and needs to put Christ on in baptism having then access to pray to your heavenly father. All these things can be made available to you today. If you have need of the power of prayer,

why not come now? As we stand in, as we sing<inaudible> are you fully trusting? And his grace is a car you washed and the blonde, the lamb<inaudible>. And so cleansing<inaudible> or your Gorman spotless, are they wide ass know, are you are washed in the blood of the lamb? Are you walking day? The, by the savior side,

are you washed in the blood of the lamb? Do you resting each moment? And the crucified are you wash and<inaudible> are you in blah? And the so cleansing<inaudible> are your garments spotless? Are they wide ass? No. Are you all washed in the blood of the<inaudible> lay a side, the garments that stained with sin and been washed in the blood of the lamb.

There’s a fountain flowing for the so clean. Oh, being washed and blah, are you stand up? And so cleansing<inaudible><inaudible> garments spotless. Are they white? A yes, no. Are you a washed in the blood of the lamb? Right? Our closing song for this morning, excuse me. For this morning, he was going to be number 867,

eight, six seven to Canaan’s land. I’m on my way. We’ll sing the first verse and then we’ll have our closing prayer at eight, six, seven, the Canaan Canaan’s land I’m on my way to Kane and land I’m on my way where the so never a nice my dark as night. Well, turn to dang where the so never a guys,

no side<inaudible> no<inaudible> where<inaudible> and the so never, It was about our God and our father in heaven. It is truly a privilege that we have to come before you and ask you father to continue to watch over us. And thank you father for loving us so much and your precious son dying on the cross of Calvary, that we might have that hope of eternal life with the in heaven father,

we’re mindful of the many that are ill of this congregation, as well as others outside the church and not a part of this body here. We pray father that you help us each day, that we remember them often in our prayers and that we fervently asked that you be with them and those that are ministering to them, that they might regain their health while we’re also mindful of those that are struggling spiritually.

And we pray father that we, as your children might reach out to them and try to encourage them and help them any way that we can. That we’ve mentioned them often in prayer to you, that you will continue to watch over them and bless them. And as they go through life that they, their hearts might be softened, that they want to come back to you and serve you as a faithful child of yours.

Father help us to not take prayer for granted, but realized that we must use it every day of our lives to try to draw closer to you and to try to overcome the things that sometimes come before us and this lie, we might be able to be better servants in the kingdom that we might be more effective, not only in this community, but in our nation and in the world.

We pray father that we take this lesson and we let it strengthen us that we would look to our lives first and try to improve them. And we try to pray for others that might be struggling with various things in their lives while they we’re grateful for the time and the privilege we’ve had to come and worship you this day, we pray that has been acceptable.

And to you that we will take much from what we’ve learned today and what we’ve studied. It might strengthen our faith and that we might draw closer to you and to one another, help us to always be about trying to reach those that are outside your body with the gospel and strengthen us as we go through life that we might have that home and have him with the one day and Jesus,

we pray. Amen.

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01-27-2021 – Live Stream – Mark 4

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

Hope everyone is doing well this evening. It’s good to be able to teach class again and just want to say thank you for all the thoughts, all the prayers, all of the messages for Eddie and I and the family. And for my parents, Grammy, our, our grandmother is doing well as can be expected. They, they don’t expect her to recover from this in any way,

shape or form, but she’s not in pain. She’s not able to move her right side. The stroke did paralyze her right side. She is able to, to eat. We’re, we’re able to feed her. And she is back at home. As of Monday night, we were able to get her home from the hospital. So she’s at her house and she knows she’s at her house.

And that’s helpful for anyone who’s been through this type of situation before not being in the hospital and having let alone in COVID restrictions where there’s limitations on, who could see or so the grandkids have gotten to, or great grandkids have gotten to see her. And so that’s been good, but appreciate your prayers, appreciate your concern. And it means a lot to us and hope all of you are doing well.

We are going to be in Mark chapter four this evening. And so we’re going to get started with that right after a prayer. Let us pray. Our gracious father in heaven. We bound before you grateful for the day that you’ve given to us grateful for the life that we have grateful for all of the things that you do for us on a daily basis,

we ask that you will be with us as we go through this period of study. Be with those who may be traveling in the midst of the winter storms. We pray that they have safety on the road. We pray that you will watch over us as a congregation, as we go through this year and may the things that we do and the things that we accomplish,

be those things, which are right in your sight, but also open the doors of opportunities. In the years ahead, may we always be focused each and every day, individually, and as an assembly on serving you and bringing glory to your name, all this, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. So Mark chapter four begins in the midst of the second year of Jesus’ ministry.

It begins with Jesus teaching the multitudes. The multitudes are beginning to follow Jesus. And if you go back in Mark’s account to chapter three, you might recognize an occasion. That is something we just studied about in one of our previous lessons. Then his brothers and his mother came standing outside. They send to him calling him and a multitude was sitting around him.

And they said to him, look, your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you. But he answered them saying, who is my mother or my brothers? And he looked around in a circle at those who sat about him and said, here are my mother and my brothers for whoever does the will of God is my mother and my sister and mother,

excuse me, my brother, my sister and mother Jesus emphasizes that his family are those who do God’s will. And that’s significant because Jesus is making it clear that it is necessary. If you’re going to have a relationship with him to hear the word of God and do it. You remember the wise and the foolish man as Jesus gave it in Matthew chapter seven,

the wise man was the one who heard the word and obeyed it. Who did that? Which he was told. Do you believe that Jesus, his brothers, his sisters had heard the things that Jesus was teaching, perhaps even had heard these things before Jesus was teaching publicly. Perhaps we certainly know that they knew what he was claiming because of discussions we have recorded.

They know who he said he was, they knew what he was teaching, and yet they didn’t act on it. They didn’t believe. And obey. Jesus said, here are my mother and here’s my brothers. And here’s my sisters. Those who do the will of my father in heaven. So it is in Mark’s context. It is in that context that he begins verse one,

chapter four. And again, he began to teach by the sea and a great multitude was gathered to him so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea. And the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. Jesus is here by the sea. Most likely the sea of Galilee, Jesus is here by the sea and a great multitude gathers to him.

They’re coming as close as they can. They, everybody wants to hear what’s going on. And so instead of standing on the land and shouting as loud as he could, Jesus uses as he does at other times, natural acoustics. He doesn’t have a PA system. He doesn’t have a microphone. He doesn’t have, you know, 40 speakers blaring up loud,

wet on way, way, high stands. He instead gets in a boat and goes out into the sea and uses the natural acoustics of the sea and the land to be able to amplify his voice so that people could hear him. And so now the whole multitude can hear, and this is what he begins to say. He taught them anything’s verse two by parables and said to them in his teaching,

listen, behold, a sower went out to sow notice first that Jesus tells them to listen. Just the same way we talked about in Matthew chapter seven, where he says, this is the wise man, the one who hears these words of mine, and then does them. Jesus begins first with you have to hear them. A person cannot be acceptable to God unless they first hear the word of God.

They cannot keep the commandments of God unless they first hear the commandments of God. Jesus tells these people to listen. He will close this parable over in verse nine, with he who has ears to hear, let him hear Jesus emphasizes at both ends of this parable, right at the beginning. And right at the end to listen, to hear the things that he is teaching.

But as we all are, as we’ve already pointed out. And as we know that doesn’t mean just, Oh, I want you to listen up. I want you to listen to this. And then I want you to go forget it, do with it, what you will. He wants them to hear. So they might obey, but he knows some of them won’t.

And we’ll get into that a little bit later in the chapter, he says, listen, behold, a sower went out to sow and it happened as he sowed that some seed fell by the wayside and the birds of the air came and devoured it. So this sower goes out. Now this isn’t like the way you and I would would sow seed in a,

in a garden. This isn’t, someone goes out and they plow nice straight rows. And then they go along those rows very carefully, every so far, according to the back of the package, you make sure and space, those seeds out every 12 inches that that’s not this kind of selling. This kind of sowing is one where the sower goes out and goes along the field and broadcasts that seed.

He takes the seed and he scatters it to the wind, as it were every direction the seed gets sown out. So it’s not being dropped very neatly, very carefully in individual locations. It’s being broadcast, it’s being sent out throughout the field. But then also notice that as a result of the nature of the sewing, it just being cast into the field.

There’s some different soils that it lands on. And the first one Jesus describes is the wayside soil in between the fields in the first century as is probably true in most fields today on the outside edge of the fields, there were paths that they would walk instead of walking, you know, right through the field. They, when they’re traveling, they would walk by these waysides.

They would walk on these paths around the fields in between the fields and such. And yet these paths were trodden upon by people. They were trodden upon by animals. They were hard packed ground and seed falling on that soil. Jesus says the birds of the air come and they eat it up because it just sits right there on top of the soil. But then notice what happens.

Verse five, some fell on Stony ground where it did not have much earth and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth, but when the sun was up, it was scorched. And because it had no root it withered away. The second kind of soil, the Stony soil, the soil that has soil, that’s maybe rich in nutrients at the top,

but beneath it is bedrock. It’s, it’s hard. It’s Rocky soil. This inhibits those roots from growing down in to the ground where they’re going to find those nutrients where they’re going to be able to sustain themselves when the hot sun comes and dries out the ground. One of the things that my boys love to do as Mo many of you know, is in our backyard.

They, they love to dig. And this time of year, we were just out the other day and they wanted to dig in the backyard, been working on a whole, and that’s a whole nother discussion. You should ask my wife about sometime, but they’re working on their whole. And it’s very easy. You put the shovel on the ground and you put a little bit of pressure on it.

And it goes right down in the ground. But sometime around July, if you were to do the same thing and you were to go out into our backyard, which is predominantly clay, and you were to try and put that shovel down in the ground, you’d barely be able to get it in. And if you could get it in, you’d barely be able to get it out.

Why is that? Well, right now in the midst of the, the moist part of the year in the midst of the winter, and when it’s cool, that ground is loose and easy to pull up and easy to work, but come summertime, it’s baked hard as rock and a very different situation arises as far as what the plants can accomplish. So Jesus is that some of this seed ends up on soil.

That’s not thick, not deep dries out. And when the sun comes out in the heat of the, of the year, when the sun comes out, it dries it up because it has no root. So then verse seven, some seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it and it yielded no crop. Another part of the seed is broadcast out by the sower is the seed that lands among the thorny soil.

This soil is soil that maybe has good nutrients in it. It maybe has the ability to produce fruit, but it hasn’t been prepared so that it can be used. This is the soil you’d see around the edges of the field. Maybe somebody plowed the field. Maybe somebody has prepared the field. They’ve dug up all the thorns and the thistles and the bushes that are in the field.

But around the edges, they’re still thorns are still briars. They’re still things around the edge of the field. And some of that seed lands in there and up comes the seed up, comes the plant, but it can’t stay there. It can’t live there because those other bushes w those thorny, those thorns will choke it out. They will consume the nutrients.

They will cause that plant not to live and it will die. So it doesn’t produce a crop. Then an other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that spring of increased and produced some 30 fold, some 60 and some a hundred. Jesus says, then there’s the seed that falls on the soil that it’s, that was prepared for it. And that seed does something entirely different.

That seed produces a harvest. And he said to them, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. But when he was alone, verse 10, those around him with the 12, asked him about the parable. Now we know at many different occasions when Jesus gives a parable, the 12 we’ll come back to him privately and say, explain this to us.

What do you mean by this? And Jesus will oftentimes explain to them the parable, but here you see this. Isn’t just the 12. This is the 12 and others who come together with them. They ask him about the parable. And he said to them, to you, it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. Jesus tells them that the unrevealed things about the kingdom.

So let’s, let’s take a moment and actually go into this. The mystery of the kingdom of God doesn’t mean that which cannot be known. It doesn’t mean that, which we conjure some idea of out. It means that which God previously under the old Testament did not reveal. It was that which he gave some glimpse into some insight into, through the prophets,

through the old Testament, but did not state plainly did not give a full understanding of. And so Jesus says the mystery of God, which was currently being revealed the information, the nature of the function, the reality of the kingdom, which was currently being taught and being revealed by God was held for those who would obey. And yet he said to those who are on the outside,

they will be taught in parables. He says, the mysteries of the kingdom of God is been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. But to those who are outside, all things come in parables. So that seeing you may see and not perceive and hearing, they may hear and not understand last they should turn and their sins be forgiven them.

This comes from Isaiah chapter six, and I think it would be worth it for us to go back to Isaiah six and get just a little bit of context to what it is Jesus is saying here. So put your, put your ribbon in Mark chapter four, and let’s go to Isaiah chapter six for just a moment. And Isaiah six, I read in verse one in the year that King use I had died.

I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up. And the train of his robe filled the temple above it stood Serafin. Each one had six wings with two. He covered his face with two. He covered his feet. And with two, he flew and one cried to another INSEAD. Holy Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory.

And the post of the doors were shaken by the voice of him who cried out in the house was filled with smoke. Do you remember in the book of revelation where God would do something and as a result, the next thing you see is John saying that the temple of God, the throne room of God would be filled with smoke and everyone would come out well,

here’s this picture, but then notice what happens. So I said, woe is me for, I am on done because I am a man of unclean lips. And I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips, or my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then one of the Serafin flew to me having in his hand, a live coal,

which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. Okay. So keep in mind, the picture is like the tabernacle. You’ve got the throne room of God. You’ve got the temple or pictures like the tabernacle or the temple. You’ve got the temple, you’ve got the Holy place where God dwells and then the alter of burn offering there on the outside.

And so the picture here in, in the vision is as though here’s one of these angels who makes this proclamation or one of these cherubim, they make this proclamation and they go to the alter and they take the coals out of the midst of the fire. And now they’re carrying that coal over to Isaiah. And we read verse six. Then one of the Serafin flew to me having in his hand,

a live coal, which he had taken from the tongues with the altar or from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it and said, behold, this has touched your lips. Your iniquity is taken away and your sin purged. Then I also heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? Then I said,

here am I send me, okay. So this, this seems like a good, good situation, right? God D is, is seen, God is observed God’s presence, his and his power in his mind and his majesty are observed. And then this angel says to Isaiah, I’ve purified, you, I’ve cleansed your lips. And God says, we need someone to go for us.

And Isaiah says, here I am, send me all of this sounds great. Right? But then we verse nine and he said, go and tell this people keep on hearing, but do not understand, keep on seeing, but do not perceive, make the heart of this people dull and their ears heavy and shut their eyes lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand where their heart and return and be healed.

Okay. Does this mean God doesn’t want people to be saved? Does this mean that God doesn’t want people to understand his word and obey it and repent? Hello. This means that there are going to be people who see no value in God who see no value in God’s word who seen no importance and significance in the message of God. And they will hear it and they will neglect it.

They will hear it and they will despise it. They will hear it and they will walk away from it. Now the multitudes had come to hear Jesus, the multitudes of gathered together. But do you imagine that every single one of them had the same level of interest in what Jesus would say? Certainly not. I mean, imagine just, just imagine in your mind,

a group of friends are going in and one friend sees another friend group or his friends preparing to go somewhere. And he says, Hey, where are y’all going? Oh, we’re going here. Jesus of Nazareth. He’s down by he’s down by the seashore. Let’s go hear him. And so this individual who had made no preparation had made no plans to go here.

Jesus goes not because of who Jesus is. Not because of what Jesus taught, but because his friends were going. And so he goes, and he hears Jesus. And when his friends leave, he leaves and it made no impact. It had no lasting value. He didn’t hear with his ears. So as to a way, others might show up like the Pharisees and they would come and they would hear Jesus.

And they would listen to what he said, but they weren’t hearing to obey. They were hearing to find fault. So there are some casual hearers who will hear the word of God. And there are some hearers who will hear the word of God to find fault with the one who speaks the word of God. Neither one of these individuals are hearing to obey in Isaiah’s day.

God says, I’m going to send you with a message, but I know my people, I know Israel. They are dull of hearing. They will hate my message, but you’re going to tell it to them because they will be judged by it. Go back to chapter six of Isaiah. Then I said, Lord, how long? And he answered until the cities are laid waste.

And without inhabitant, the houses are without a man. The land is utterly desolate. The Lord has removed men far away. And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land, but yet a 10th will be in it and will return and be four consuming as a terrible three or as an Oak whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the Holy seed shall be it stump.

God says, I’m going to send my message through you, Isaiah. And they won’t hear it. And I’m going to send my message and they won’t listen, but some of them will, but a 10th, a remnant, a remainder, a stump will remain. They’ll hear and they’ll obey. And so over here in Mark, chapter four, Jesus says the same thing.

Those who were in his inner circle, those who were close to him, those who didn’t just come to hear him when the multitudes were there, but who listened to him in private and who listened to here to obey. He says to you, it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to those who are on the outside,

all things come in parables. He’s simultaneously revealing truth to those who will hear and concealing truth to those who will not hear, Oh, they could have heard it. They could have understood the truth. They could have dug deeper. They could have put forth an effort, but they weren’t interested in anything that involved effort to obey God. So then he said to them,

verse 13, do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables, the sower sows, the word? Okay. So the first item fire here, the sower is sending out the seed and the seed is the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that has,

that was sown in their hearts. So the seed is the word. The sower is the one who declares the word. And Satan here is pictured as the bird. Okay? Then we read verse 16, these likewise, who are the ones sown on Sony’s Stony soil or Stony ground, who, when they hear the word immediately receive it with gladness and they have no root in themselves.

And so endure only for a time afterward when the tribulation or persecution arises for the word sake immediately, they stumble couple of interesting things here in this description about the Stony ground. Number one, he says, when they hear it, they readily hear it immediately. They receive It. Their reception Is quick. And that Sounds like a great thing, But no,

The description he banks about them. There’s no depth to them. And he doesn’t say no depth in their knowledge of the word of God, no depth in their study. Ha no, no, no. He says there’s no depth in themselves. Have you ever met people who are just shallow? They Don’t want to think hard about anything. They don’t want to give a lot of effort to anything.

They don’t want to invest themselves. They want to just smooth, have smooth sailing as they go through life. And whenever disruption comes in this case, Jesus describes it as persecution. They’re going to take the road often traveled. They’re going to take the road that it’s easy. They’re going to depart. They’re going to put aside Christianity because it’s now not smooth.

It’s now not easy Because They have no depth in themselves. Could You take Stony soil And turn it into Good soil? You could, But it would, it would require a change in the very nature of the soil. And it would require a great deal of effort. Does that mean that we shouldn’t ever go through the effort to change and help an individual change themselves so they will hear and become faithful and remain that way.

Now it doesn’t mean that, but it means that you’ll never do it to them without them. You’ll never force someone who is, has no depth in themselves to ever change from that situation, unless they first desire Change. So many people will lay aside the truth for what is convenient. They’ll lay aside the truth for what is easier to do. Okay?

And they’ll walk away from God when the hard times come. But then he also says, These are the ones. Now these are the ones verse 18 sown among thorns. They are the ones who hear the word and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things entering in, choke the word. And it becomes unfruitful here.

Jesus says the thorny soil, that the seed lands in this soil and it begins to spring up. It gives life, but it doesn’t produce fruit. Why? Because the cares of this world, the things of this world that you notice, that phrase, that Jesus said, he said, the desires for other things take their focus away. It takes their attention away from what is most important.

They allow the things around them, the desires of the world, the, the loss of the world, the, the pleasures of this world, sin of this world to choke out the word of God. You see the reality is we’re either removing the thorns or the thorns or removing the word that those are the only two options either we’re getting rid of the sand or the sin is getting rid of the righteousness in our lives.

And you and I, we have to choose for ourselves. What is the priority? What matters most to us is that the pleasures of this world, is it the things of this world? Is it the sin of this world? Or is it serving God? And so this soil, they here, they begin to grow the, the, the plant,

the seed produces a plant. And yet it produces no fruit because it was choked out by things of less importance. But these are the ones sown verse 20 on good ground. Those who hear the word, accept it. And bear fruit. Some 30 fold, some 60 and some a hundred fold. Jesus says, but there’s good soil out there. There’s soil.

That’s been prepared. That’s ready. That will hear the word. And he wants his word sown in that soil. And that soil not only hears the word changes that seed into a plant, but it produces something. It bears fruit and stuff. Some soils will bear different levels of fruit, but they will all bear fruit. So we need to be mindful.

Yeah. Are we Christians who bear no fruit? Are we bearing no fruit of righteousness? Are we bearing no fruit of, of salvation? Are we bearing no fruit of others being taught the word of God? Are we bearing no fruit? Because we’re too busy with other things. One of these days is a phrase too many people have said about serving God.

I’m going to do that. One of these days, I’m going to learn how to teach a class. One of these days, I’m going to learn how to preach a sermon. One of these days, I’m going to learn how to do personal work and Purdue, a Bible study. He was someone one of these days, I’m going to be more faithful in my attendance.

One of these days, I’m going to, I’m going to change my life and start putting some of these sins behind, behind me one of these days. But that’s not what Jesus said. We’re to be. Jeez, Jesus said, we are to be those who hear the word of God and allow it to flourish in our lives, allow it to grow in our lives and allow it to prove,

produce a yield of exponent and show growth in our lives. But it will never be that way unless we first listen, unless we first listen with a mind to hear, to understand, to meditate on that and then implement those things in our lives. It will not happen when we just simply listen and then forget what we’ve been taught. But then also we read also,

he said to them, verse 21 is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed. Is it not to be set on lampstand? Jesus said, what? What’s the value of a lamp? You bring it into the room. You have, you need light in the room. It’s dark outside. Not in the days of electricity.

They, you don’t flip the light switch on you, light a lamp. You bring the lamp into the room. You’re sitting in the dark. So you bring the lamp into the room and you set it and you put something over it so that it doesn’t shine any light, right? Well, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. You don’t bring it in and send it under the bed.

You know what? We need some light in this room. I almost tripped and fell. So I’ll go get the lamp. I light the lamp of come and I bring it and set it under the largest object in the room. No, you put it on a lampstand. You put it where it can do what it was Tended to do shine light For.

There is nothing hidden, which will not be revealed nor has anything been kept secret that should not come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him Hear All through this section. This is all a continual message about the willingness of a person to invest themselves in the word of God, to take that word, that light, that he’s delivering to them and allow it to have an effect,

But they might not do that. Then he said to them, take heed. What you hear with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you and to you who hear more will be given for whoever has to him more will be given. But whoever does not have, even what he has, will be taken away from him. Jesus said the one who hears the one who he needs,

what he hears, the one who remembers and meditates on and implements what he hears to him more will be. But to the one who casually came with the multitudes to hear Jesus, and they heard a parable and they went home and they thought about it. And never again, they decided not to do anything about it. They didn’t see any reason why they needed to care or have any concern about it.

They went away and all they received was what they got right there. They had no depth. They had nothing that had continual value for whoever has to him more will be given. But whoever does not have, even what he has, will be taken away. If you don’t use the things you learn about the word of God, if you don’t teach them to others,

if you take it and you learn it and you put it in your mind and then you never review it, you never go back to it. You never repeat it. You never regurgitate it to someone else. You never teach someone what you learn. It won’t stay with you. You’ll learn. Oh, less so. And over and over and over the decades,

you’ll hear the same.<inaudible> over and over and over for decades.<inaudible> never heard that. Never heard that before. Well, maybe you have used it maybe first time, first time you heard it, we don’t need to be vitals to be Bible students. Like we need to be Bible study Bible students that we hear what we hear, give it to someone else.

Someone else give it to someone else. Someone else, someone else there are people. I know people I can tell you tell you the scores scores of every Superbowl, the last 30 last 30 years, they can tell. They can tell you what happened. Highlight super bowl for the last 30 last 30 years. But they can’t buy by movers to you.

They can’t<inaudible> Bible verse to you. They don’t know<inaudible> why<inaudible> and the others and the other, they don’t, they don’t the word of God. I know has value value in their lives, in their lives, 26. And he said, he said,<inaudible> does not know how for the year.<inaudible> when the green, the green<inaudible> harvest as has come kingdom of God.

God is as if on the ground, on the ground and wait and wait. He doesn’t, he doesn’t go out every<inaudible> to make it grow. He doesn’t go out every day, every day and measure and measure to make sure it’s growing. He doesn’t go out every day and more shit forced to grow, to grow. He doesn’t go loud.<inaudible> it will grow.

It will grow. He sells. So see the seed. And then then’s for the harvest or the harvest. The seeds seed has the power to produce the produce. The fruit, not the software, the sower, the sower does fruit. The fruit seed does seed does. So when we sold Marcel ourselves and our opinion, our opinion, we don’t produce,

we don’t produce fruit for God. When we formed<inaudible> I have, in my mind, my parents who have forced their children, their children become Christian, become Christian, maybe knife, guns, guns, but we’re but way they way, they way they delay. They, they<inaudible>, they never inverted them. Them. That’s not that God, what God’s word does.

God’s word we’re in there in there into the heart and the heart. When it oil and deuces is itself itself, it produces its fruit. And then there is a harvest. Our response is to, so our responsibility, our responsibility is to spread the word, the word, the house, the power to save, to save. And we need to learn about the word of God.

When the grain<inaudible> harvest has, has come. And you and I am you. And I need to learn and understand that if we, and if we will. So we, to, we too will re will re harvest a harvest. Paul wrote so off wrote so often about his, his time and his, his, his labor, his loopers to grow some Rose,

something among the churches, the churches to have fruit in those churches, those churches, by teaching them by teaching them. And we need to be about, we need to be about the same need to be. We need to be doing the same thing, the same thing.<inaudible> Can you all hear me? I want to welcome you to our Wednesday night devotional period.

It’s good to see each of you here. And I’ve got a few announcements here that like to get across to the entire congregation. We need to remember our sick Joan sprayer, about the same as I understand, Dorothy Wilson, I was just handed a note which are promptly lost, but the gist of it was that she is suffering from so kidney disease and her heart problems or blood pressure problems are somewhat better.

And I guess he Richardson is doing about the same that’s Sherilyn dad. Barbara Dillard is still recovering from her rotator cuff procedure. And I understand she is doing some better. Elaine sharp that Shirley Shelley Stack’s mother is still dealing with Marsa. And Ken Phillips is also suffering it’s Michael’s friend suffering with the Colvin. And of course you heard Aaron go over with his class about his grandmother she’s home.

And he did a much better job of telling all about how she’s doing, but basically she’s home. And there’s not much they can do for she’s suffered a very severe stroke. And that is leaving them with very few options. She does not want to be doing, she does not want to be resuscitated. So that’s just the way it is. And Donnie Flanigan that’s Diana’s brother lives over in Piper,

tin. He fell and he’s broken his femur. It’s real close to his hip. So he’s going to have a hip replacement in the very near future here. I don’t know either tomorrow or within a day or so nine, and certainly would covet your prayers for him and have a note here, sympathy to the Dutton family at the loss of bill, bill,

and Rhoda used to worship here. And some of you probably probably know him and also keep Francis Redmond in your prayers. She’s doing well. And after the death of Sandra, but things are starting to fall into place for her. And I think we’ll be moving forward with that pretty, pretty quickly here. Song leader tonight is going to be Michael Dale, the devotional Noah Olson,

and Terry Whitley has our closing prayer. Thank you for being, being here. I just have a quick prayer request and announcement. My sister, let me know last night and let my family know last night, that after year of trying to get pregnant, they found out she was pregnant because she had a miscarriage. So she is sure, you know, mentally distraught and asks for prayers of that.

She can get prayers from so she can make it through this because when you try that hard to get pregnant, and then that happens, it can really mess with you. So if you could please keep her in your prayers. Her name is Bethany. If you could Mark song number 931, that will be our song of invitation number 931. And then our song before brother Olson gets up here and gives us this devotional will be number 83.

God is so good. Number 83. God is so God is, so God is good. He’s good to me. He cares for me. He cares for me. He cares for me. He, so to me am so, Oh,<inaudible>,<inaudible> he? So to me he, and<inaudible> he and<inaudible> he and<inaudible> he so good to me.

Good evening. It was a privilege again, to be able to be with you tonight. You want to turn your Bibles over to Matthew chapter five for, but a moment Matthew chapter five, I’ve come to love the sermon on the Mount. And I love Jesus’s sermon, especially in verses three through 12, often called the beatitudes. I like breaking these into two different sections.

The first three would be categorized as the qualities that one must possess before becoming a Christian. And then the last five categorizes or are those qualities that Christians must possess. I want to go through verses six through 12, just for the time we have here. Notice verse number six, firstly, blessing, are they? What you do? Hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled in order for Christians to be faithful unto God.

We have to study. We have to desire the knowledge of God. Amir glance at God’s word is not going to be sufficient in our lives today. We must study second Timothy chapter two in verse 15 tells us to study, to show myself, to proven to God a Workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. I must submit my life a life as a Christian to know God’s will I must hunger for this righteous and hunger for that knowledge.

And I will be filled. As we talked about in our lesson, Sunday, Matthew chapter seven, verse number eight, it tells us, we ask for these things. We seek. We are going to get them. If we seek for the knowledge of God, we will find it. If we give diligence, but notice verse number seven, blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.

If I want to be forgiven by my father in heaven, I must forgive others. I must have a forgiving spirit. Jesus portrayed this in Luke chapter 23 and verse number 34. He says, father, forgive them for they know not what they do. He is not suggesting that he is going to forgive their sin when there is no repentance. What he’s saying is I have a forgiving spirit and we as Christians need to do the same.

We need to forgive others when they do us wrong. But notice the third in verse number eight, blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. This is, you could say basically a Hey clean life fellowship with God. If we are going to be in fellowship with God first, John chapter one, verse number seven tells us that if we walk in the light,

as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ. His son cleanses us from sin. We have to strive to be like he is free from contamination, free from sin as Christians. And we can be called the children of God. If we confess our sins, he’s faithful. And just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

First, John one and verse number nine. But notice verse number nine of Matthew, five, blessed are the peacemakers for, they should be called the children of God as Christians. We need to strive always for peace. First Corinthians chapter 14, God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. We can’t. We, we, as Christians should not be striving for division.

We shouldn’t be coralling over things that are really pointless. We should strive for peace and that’s what we need to do as Christians. But notice the last quality that we need to possess in verses 10 through 12 of Matthew, five, but less than are they, which are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you,

falsely for my sake, rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted, they, the prophets, which were before you, when I am faced with persecution, whether that be verbally, or if the time comes there might be physical persecution. I, as we, as Christians have to stand up for Christ, Paul would say in Romans chapter one,

verse 16, I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Why, why is Paul not ashamed? He continues because is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes his Jew first and also to the Greek. And therefore we, as Christians need to stand up for the gospel, or if we want Christ to confess us before his father, we need to confess him before men.

But perhaps there is one here tonight who has not had these, these qualities and living faithfully as a Christian, perhaps you’ve strayed from the faith. You obey the gospel once before, but not the living faithfully unto unto Christ. Would you come back to God again? I state this many times, but God is ready and willing to forgive. You just have to make that step,

but perhaps you’ve never even obeyed the gospel. And you would desire to, again, as I’ve stayed in verses three through five of Matthew five, there are three qualities that one must possess. He must be poor in spirit, have a humble heart, be willing to come to the knowledge of truth. He must be meek and he must have he mourns.

Why does he more? He repents. He turns from sin and that is what one must do. He must believe that Jesus is the son of God. Be willing to repent of his sins, confess Christ before man, and to be willing to submit to baptism. So you can be added to the church if you’ll be willing to do so. God will add you to his church and you can be called a Christian.

If anyone is subject, why don’t you come as we stand? And as we sing, Yes, lied well, shine and hearts of man, the fruitless deeds of darkness, ah, revealed by Christ.<inaudible> wake up, sleep rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Wake up sleeper rise from the dead and Christ.<inaudible><inaudible>. The fruits of his spirit is,

Oh goodness, Nudie breaks. And<inaudible> give thanks to God and Jesus Christ. Wake up, sleep rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Wake up, sleep rise from the dead and cry.<inaudible> on you. Let us pray our heavenly father. We thank you for another day. Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to be in your house tonight and hear your word proclaimed Lord.

We ask that you be with the sick, be with Aaron and his family Lord, and just comfort them as only you can Lord, we thank you for Michael and Noah and their devotion Lord in, let us keep supporting them and just give them a desire to serve you. Lord, Lord, as we leave tonight, just be with us and bring us back at the next appointed time.

These things we’re asking your precious name. Amen.

01-24-2021 – Live Stream Worship (N. Olsen)

In Live Streams, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Welcome to our Sunday morning Bible class. I’m recording this according this Saturday night, Saturday night. Want to want to let all of you know that right now, my grandmother is still with us. They’ve given her meds and she finally has started sleeping. She really hasn’t slept any of the last 20 hours, 20 hours in any substance,

in any substantive way, but appreciate, appreciate your all’s prayers for us. She’s in a lot of discomfort at this point, at this point in time, but thankfully the, the medication has made it to where she could sleep. So thank you for your, thank you for your thoughts, your prayers, and all the, all the contacts and the messages that we’ve received,

letting us know, letting us know that you’re thinking about us and her and praying for us. And we appreciate it. Greatly. Also want to say also want to say thank you to Noah for filling in for me preaching this morning. Let’s get in, let’s get into Luke chapter 12. We’re going to continue our study in Luke chapter 12, beginning verse 22 as we get started,

but let’s begin with a word of prayer. Our gracious father gracious father in heaven. Rebal before you incredibly incredibly grateful for all of your many gifts, your many blessings, most especially most, especially your son who died on the cross for our sins and has delayed as delivered to us the hope of eternal life. We pray that as we pray that as we go through this period of study,

the things which Christ Christ spoke while he was on this earth will enlighten our hearts and help us to incur, to be encouraged by the things that we read, but also to be provoked, to be, to be what you would have us to be. We ask that you forgive us. When we sin and fall short of your glory, we pray all this.

We pray in Jesus name. Amen. So as a result, so as a result of not being there and not having them in front of me, I’m going to leave the review of the questions Wednesday night for another period. Hopefully this coming Wednesday night or Sunday, we can go over those. So I encourage you to study those on your own. We’re going to begin in Luke chapter 12,

verse 22. Then he, then he Christ said to his disciples, therefore I say to you do not worry about your life. What you will eat nor about the body. What you will put on life is more than food in the body. More than clothing. I remember the context of this that actually began in our, in our study on Wednesday night,

there is a man who came to Jew, came to Jesus and said, tell my, tell my brother to give me or to divide with me, inherit the inherited. He said, Jesus said, may have I been made a judge or a arbitrator between you and your brother, and then gave the parable of the rich fool follows. He follows the parable of the rich fool up with this statement,

therefore, or do not be worried, do not worry about your life. This is a, this is a similar statement that is made over in. We saw in the sermon on the mountain, made over in Matthew chapter six. But Jesus said, as he speaks to this man, as he speaks to those who are around, as he speaks to his disciples who are listening to this,

and they’re seeing this, he says, do not worry, do not worry for the things of this world. Life do not focus, do not focus on this life, especially, especially in this context to the neglect of these next life of eternity. This man, this man is standing before Christ. He standing before the Messiah, he’s standing before the one who the Israelites were waiting to arrive for 1600 years.

And what is he? What is he worried about? His inherit, his inheritance he’s missed. He’s missed the importance of everything that is right in front of him because he’s because he’s too worried about physical possession. So then Jesus. So then Jesus says this life is more than food. Verse 23 and the body more than clothing. Consider the consider the Ravens for they neither sow nor reap,

which have, which have neither storehouse nor barn. And God feeds them of how much more value are you than the birds. And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature. If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Jesus, Jesus lays upon them. The reality that they’re not in control,

they’re not, they’re not in charge and much effort as they might expand, expand in order to, in order to achieve their own goals, they can’t do the smallest of things in view of God’s ability, God’s power and God’s power with a word, with a word. God spoke the universe into existence with all, with all of our thought and being an effort we can’t fall by fault,

extend our life even for an, even for an hour. And here and here, Jesus let Jesus lays for reality. The reality that This person is missing greatest thing, the thing of greatest value in his own, in his own life, the value of his soul, if he has, if he has his soul and he has salvation and he has the kingdom,

then the inheritance and the inheritance is of little consequence in the grand scheme of things. But instead, it’s the only thing he’s thinking about. And notice he then notice he goes on. If then you are not able to do the least, why are you anxious to do the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin.

And yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed. Like one of these, if then God. So clothes, the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven. How much more will he clothe you? Oh, you of little faith and do not do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink,

nor have an anxious mind for all of these things. The nations of the world seek after. And your father knows that you need these things. See, but see the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you. Jesus, Jesus emphasizes that we need that. We need to prioritize correctly. I need to learn. We need to lay forth our priorities in the right order.

And when we do that, God can, God can take care of the rest and is knowledgeable and understanding of what it is that we need. He created us to begin with. Of course he knows what we mean. Of course he knows what is required to sustain our daily life. So Jesus, so Jesus is saying you’ve, you’ve lost the Hey and the confidence you have in your father,

your eternal father. And instead you buy your own mind and your own ability or striving to accomplish these things. And you can Can’t do it, not on your own, Not on your own. And if you try, you will miss. You will miss. What is of the greatest value to you. And that is eternity. Do not fear, do not fear.

Little flock, 32 verse 32, four. It is your father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Jesus said, Jesus said, not only will God give you the things that you need. Not only will God take care of your daily provisions, but he will also give you, which is that, which is of greatest value His kingdom. And he will,

and he will do it gladly. Now here’s the contract. Now here’s the contrast. There’s the, there’s the brother who has an inheritance that he won’t share with his brother and the other brother. The other brother wants the inheritance to be shared with him. And he’s looking for anybody who can get him. Part of that inheritance yet. He’s missing it.

He’s missed out on the opportunity to receive the kingdom. God is God is over here with the kingdom of greater value than his inheritance. And he’s waiting anxiously desiring to give it to the man, but the man’s not, but the man’s not interested because he’s interested in Fashions in, in this life. Jeez, Jesus said, Jesus said, sell what you sell,

what you have. You have all and give alms, provide yourselves money bags, which do not grow old treasury, a treasure in heavens that does not fail. No where no thief approaches nor moth destroys for where your treasure is there. Your heart will be also, I don’t believe. I don’t believe this is a blanket statement by Jesus. That every person,

every person who’s going to have entrance into the kingdom has to go sell all of their possessions and give it to the poor. It’s not, that’s not what Jesus is saying here. Remember, remember, he’s talking to his disciples, but he’s also talking to this man, this man wants more possessions. And Jesus said for fit what you Have first forfeit,

Forfeit, what you have for the sake of the kingdom. And then we’ll, and then we’ll see where your treasure, where your treasure is there. And then we’ll see where your heart is. Get your, get your heart right first or all, or all the, all the, the substance, all the possessions, all the treasures in the world.

Won’t do you Any good because one of these, because one of these days, you’re Going to, you’re going to leave this Life and you’re not taking, you’re not taking any of it with you and yet, And yet do what you do with it. Now can as hand as he makes this, as he makes the statement here, create or provide yourselves money Bags and account and account.

As I think, as I think Peter States it as Paul certainly States it in Philippians four in heaven that cannot be touched. It cannot be, it cannot be stolen. The, the dollar us dollar currently, currently, and in, in the upcoming years, the, the federal reserve has said that they are going to try and wholly inflation to around two to two and a half percent.

That means I means every year, you’re the, you’re the value of a dollar. You have decreases by two and a half Per cent. Now think about now, think about that. If, If you have a hundred dollar bill, how many, how many years until that hundred dollar bill at a decreasing rate of two and a half percent, every year is value is valueless.

And it wasn’t even, it wasn’t even stolen. It was stolen. It was stolen by inflation. It was inflated. It was inflated to the point where it had no real U value. There was a time and there was a time in American history where Penny’s could actually could actually buy something. And now we, and now we regularly hear the discussion about whether or not we should even have pennies anymore because,

because they have been flayed inflated out of value, the value that is worth anything Substantive. Now, now Jesus, Jesus said where your, where your treasure is there. Your heart will be also where you, where you make preparations for your treasure to be where you actually store up. Your treasure is where your heart is, where your heart is. So if also,

if all your efforts in all of your game and all of your prosperity and all of your, your use of time and money in substance goes towards achieving more possessions in this life, more accounts or accounts, larger dollar amounts and larger things, more possessions, all of these things. Then Jesus said, you’ve put, you’ve put your heart into a treasure that has,

that has no Lasting value, but 35 versus 35. Okay? He says, he says, let your waist be girded. And your lamps burning. Luke gives us, gives us a transition here from, from the dizzy discussion of possessions, to the discussion, to the discussion of the kingdom And preparation. He says, He says to his disciples, let your waist be girded.

This was an action done in preparation for battle. Quite often, he said, let your, let your waist be girded. And your lamps burning, familiar were familiar with the parable of the, of the first verge, the 10 virgins. Some of them had burning lamps ready to go. Others did and others didn’t. And you yourselves be like men who wait for the master when he will return for the w excuse me,

who will, excuse me, who will wait for their master? When he will return from the wedding, that he may know that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately. It’s an interesting statement That they will open to him immediately. Immediately. Why would a servant not open to his master when the, the master arrives at the door and knocks,

why would a servant not open immediately think about it this way. This is pointed out by brother Franklin camp. And in this passage, he said, you know, sometimes someone comes over to visit the house and you’re not ready for them. You weren’t planning on them and, and their stuff everywhere. And the house looks lived in. And, and,

and you just, before you even go answer the door, you’re shoving stuff in the closet. You’re putting stuff in our room. You’re tidying up. You’re not prepared. And so where are they? They’re standing at the door waiting. You didn’t open the door immediately. Why? Because you weren’t prepared here. The illustration Jesus gives is that type of servant who is not ready for the master’s return.

And so instead of immediately opening the door, he’s scurrying around to become prepared at the last minute. But notice what Jesus says blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, we’ll find watching assuredly. I Say to you that he will gird himself and Have them sit down to eat and we’ll come and serve them. Jesus goes so far to say this.

Jesus said, I am looking for a servant, not who’s got the house prepared for when I return. I’m looking for a servant. Who’s watching for my return. The master doesn’t even come and knock. The master. Doesn’t spend any time outside waiting. The servant, sees him coming and opens the door. No wait time. But then the reaction of the master is to serve the servant.

Now, yes, I know that Jesus will say in Luke chapter 19, that, or chapter 17, that when we’ve done all that we’ve been commanded to do, we are still unprofitable servants. I understand that. But Jesus is saying the master in the kingdom will serve the servants to do what they need because they sought first. The kingdom goes right back to what he was just saying.

If you will seek first the kingdom. Yeah. If you will be prepared, if you will be watching, if you will be a good servant, then your heavenly father will serve. You will provide for you. But know this verse 39. That is if the master of the house had known what hour the thief let’s actually go back to verse three.

And if he, you should come in the second watch or come in the third watch and find them so blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, had not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, you also be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour.

You do not expect. He’s telling me these people and he’s telling his disciples. And he’s telling those who will listen. You be ready, always because when Christ returns there won’t be any signs. There won’t be in a great announcement. There won’t be any seasons to look at the forecast. There will be no signs of Christ return. Instead they are to be,

be prepared. Always. Then Peter said to him, Lord, do you speak this parable only to us or to all people? It’s interesting to notice when Jesus gets asked a question, how sometimes, sometimes he doesn’t just answer the question he answers what’s needed. And not necessarily what’s. I asked the Lord said, who then, then is a faith.

Is that faithful? And why steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household and to give them their portion of food doozies season, bless it is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, by master is delaying his coming and begins to beat the male servants and female servants and to eat and to drink and to be drunk.

The master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour, when he is not aware and will cut him into an appoint him, his portion with the unbelievers and that servant who knew his masters will and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know yet committed things,

deserving of stripes shall be beaten with view. For everyone to whom much is given from him, much will be required. And to whom much has been committed of him, they will ask the more Jesus replies to Peter, that God has entrusted to individual’s responsibility and has entrusted to them, the work of the kingdom, the care, and providing for of the kingdom,

the function of the kingdom. And if those servants failed to carry out their obligation, or if they become those who think, you know what Christ isn’t returning anytime soon, I’ve got time to fix it later. I can glorify myself right now and I can do his will later crisis. That’s not going to work out for that person. That individual will be judged.

Now think about it. This is truly an accusation against the scribes and the Pharisees, the chief priests, the Sadducees, and the religious leaders, because prophetically speaking, the prophets would look forward to the days of Christ. And they would proclaim that the shepherds that were supposed to be shepherding Israel had instead chosen to consume the flock. And he’s about to transition to a discussion of a flock.

He’s about to use the old Testament analogy of the shepherds and the flock and the evil shepherds who would be judged. And that was the scribes, the Pharisees, the chief priests and the religious leaders of the day. So verse 49, I came to send fire on the earth and how I wish it were already kindled, but I have a baptism to be baptized with and how distressed I am till it is accomplished at,

at times, Jesus will begin to give insight into what’s coming his crucifixion and the things that would happen, but they wouldn’t understand it. His disciples wouldn’t comprehend what he was saying. And yet would say in any way, and later on, as John will point out, they’ll remember all of these things and they’ll understand, but they didn’t at this point.

Note is also that Jesus is speaking about a judgment, a judgment that would come. And I believe this is specifically referencing the judgment of the Jewish nation, the judgment against Israel for their unfaithfulness. And again, that goes back to those shepherds that were not faithful. Verse 51. Do you suppose that I came to give peace on the earth? I tell you not at all,

but rather division four from now on five in one house will be divided to three against two and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her. Mother-in-law Jesus came to bring peace. But the kind of piece that it bring is brought about when individuals obey God,

that is they hear the truth. They obey the truth. They hold fast to the truth and they don’t depart from the truth. When they do that, they have peace with God, but Jesus did not come to bring peace to those who refuse to obey the truth. And so Jesus said, I did not come to bring peace, but division. He came to bring judgment and the vision against those who would not hear the truth and who would not obey the truth.

So to in congregations today, if the choice is between holding fast to the truth and maintaining the doctrine of Christ and living out what Christ has said, or getting along with a group that wants to change the doctrine, or wants to change the practice of the church, or wants to change the worship of the church, we don’t need unity. We need division.

You say, well, wait a minute. Jesus said we weren’t to divide the church. Paul said that the Christ didn’t want the church divided or correct, but he also doesn’t want an unfaithful church. It’s not enough to have unity. It must be unity based upon obedience to the truth or it’s unity that will never matter in eternity. He goes on to say,

then he also said to the multitudes verse 54, whoever, excuse me, whenever you see a cloud rising out of the West, immediately, you say a shower is coming. And so it is, and when you see the South wind blow, you say there will be hot weather. And there is hypocrites. You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth,

but how is it? You do not discern this time. Jesus looks at the multitude. Who’s regularly pictured as those who, well, they think Jesus is the, is the Messiah. Well, they maybe he’s the prophet. Maybe he’s Alijah. Maybe he’s he’s John, the Baptist, maybe he’s somebody else. And he said, you can look at the sky and understand what the weather is going to be.

And you can’t understand all of this old Testament, scripture that tells you the time of the kingdom is at hand. And that the Messiah is here. Yes. And why verse 57, even of yourselves, do you not judge? What is right? When you go with your adversary to the magistrate and make every effort along the way to settle with him,

lest he drag you to the judge. The judge deliver you to the officer. The officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you shall not depart from there until you have paid. The very last mite. Jesus said there are consequences for not observing the truth. There are consequences for not putting first the kingdom. There are consequences for not being obedient to God and Christ and being ready for his return.

And all of that is used here in an analogy of a person who owes a debt. They will not have not paid. And they’re going to have to pay it by being put in prison until the debt is paid. There were present at that season. Some who told him about the Galileans whose blood pilot had mingled with their sacrifices and Jesus answered and said to them,

do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered such things. Having been told you can’t, you can look at the sky and you can determine the weather, but you can’t understand what’s right in front of you. Some people say, well, didn’t you hear about those? Galileans didn’t you hear what happened to them? That,

that, that these Galileans pilot took their blood and he sprinkled it with their sacrifices and abomination that God, that’s a clear indicator. This is kind of in the subtext here, the implications, this is a clear indicator that these Galileans, who were offering the sacrifices were evil, bad people, otherwise, such a terrible thing would never happen. Had them.

Jesus said, do you suppose that these Galileans were right? Worse, sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered such things. I ain’t tell you. No, but unless you repent. Yeah, you will all likewise perish or those eight keen on whom the tower of Salone fell and killed them. Do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?

I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise as perish Jesus, and it’s time for you to start cleaning your own house. It’s time for you to start getting right in your own heart, in your own life and repeating hinting or yeah. This example, not a tower falling on you, not a Roman ruler coming and killing you and mingling your,

your blood with the sacrifices. That’s not what Jesus said. Coming destruction, judgment, death. That’s what’s coming unless you repent. And we’re reminded that the message of repentance is what John came preaching. He came preaching to Israel. The people of God who the Messiah would be born among them and was among them. He came preaching, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

And Jesus preaches the same, the message, repent or perish. There are, are no other alternatives. We need to examine our hearts and our right minds. We need to examine our lives and figure out are we in need of repentance? Is there something in our lives that we’re ignoring? Is there a motivation that desire for riches, for glory, for possessions,

for, for the things of this earth that we can’t let go? Yeah. He spoke this bearable, sorry, man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he looked or said to the keeper of his vineyard, look for three years, I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and found none.

Cut it down. Why does it use up the ground? Interesting principle here is Jesus fully comprehends and illustrates within his teaching that a plant exists and pulls nutrients from the ground. It, yes, with this example, the fig tree pulls the nutrients from the ground, but produce it. It is nothing. It produces no fruit. It uses up resources,

but has no productive value. So the vineyard owner says, cut it down and get rid of it. But he, the vineyard keeper answered and said, sir, let it alone this year. Also until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit well, but if not after that, you can cut it down. I want to remind us that we’re in the second year of Jesus’ ministry.

And in the second year of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus uses the illustration of one who has taken three years to come find any fruit born by this nation of Israel. And he’s not finding any, that’s not to say he’s not finding an individual and individuals who would be obedient to him, but the nation, the nation was not producing the fruit of the kingdom and the nation was going to be judged.

So notice Jesus said, I didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword. I didn’t come to bring peace, but division, I came to bring fire. He says, and then he says repent or perish. And then he says, if you produce no fruit for my kingdom, I will cut you down. I will destroy you. We need to learn the necessity of bearing fruit.

And that fruit must be righteousness and the producing of righteousness, not only in our own lives, but in the lives of others, hope you all have a good class and have a good worship this morning. And I pray that everything will be well with you until we’re with you. Again, we love you very much. You’re dismissed.<inaudible><inaudible> Good morning and welcome to the Collierville church of Christ.

Sunday morning, worship service. It is so good to see each of you here this morning. We have several visitors with us and especially the Olsen family that came all the way from central Missouri to, I think they have some special interest here, but anyway, it’s good to have them. And the hatchers are with us. They once worshipped here several years ago and quiets back with us again today,

appreciate him. And we appreciate our minister from Holly Springs. Good, good to have you folks here, if you haven’t, we wouldn’t like for you to take a card from the Pew in front of you and fill it out and just leave it on the Pew or drop it in the collection plate or hand it to one of us, just get it,

get it to here so that we have a record of your attendance. And as you came in, if you did not pick up the Lord’s supper on the table, as you walked into the auditorium, this is good time to do it. We’re just going to go through a few administrative announcements. And so go back and pick up the little cup of bread and grape juice,

and we’ll be ready for the Lord separ when it is offered, need to remember our sick Joan sprayer, still very weak at home. Dorothy Wilson is doing better with her heart blood pressure problem that she has. And we have a note here that her blood pressure is, is stabilizing. And she is scheduled the 1st of February, which is Monday to have ultrasounds and blood work to see if her stage three chronic kidney disease has improved since her last hospital stay.

When her count was 43, where it should be around 70. So let’s keep definitely her in our prayers and ed Richardson, which is the Halvorson’s father-in-law is doing about the same. As I understand, Barbara Diller is still at home suffering with the recovery of her shoulder, from a procedure that was done on it. It has to be a mobilized for a period of about two weeks or better.

And she’s still working on that need to remember her Elena sharp as well. And Ken and Frankie Phillips that’s Dale’s the Dale’s friend. They are recovering from COVID. That’s all of the sick that I’m aware of as you came in the auditorium, there’s a basket of names we’ve been working on this for awhile. It’s names of people that previously worshiped here, or have we have some record of them having visted.

If you’d pick up one of those names out of the basket and make contact with that person and just invite them back to the church is what it’s all about. The Potter’s children home up in Kentucky, that we helped support. We’ll be here to pick up the commodities that we assemble the week of February 15th. So if you haven’t been bringing your commodities, this is a good time to get update on that.

The Nesbitt church of Christ congregation is hosting the 22nd standing in the gap lectures Wednesday through Sunday in January 27th through the 31st, there are details on the bulletin board. If you’re interested in attending there. And then I have a card from Francis Redmond that I’m going to read for you. I’ll post the code card back on the bulletin board, but it says to all my brothers and sisters in Christ,

I want to thank you for all the help you have given me. Thank you for all the prayers over all right, stays food calls, cards. Your kindness has been such a blessing to me. May God bless you all Francis Redmond. That’s all the announcements. I have the order of service today. We’re totally blessed to have so much talent in the congregation.

The song leader will be Michael Dale. He’s also a student over to Memphis school of preaching and no else. Noah Olson will be bringing us the message. The opening prayer will be Eric Halvorson. Joe caisson will be officiating on the Lord’s supper and the closing prayer will be Terry Sanderson. Thank you all for your attendance. Our opening song this morning will be number 75.

I seen the power of God, number 75, Seeing my T power of God that<inaudible> that<inaudible><inaudible>. Ah, I see where’s John dad or Dan<inaudible> the moon shines for that is a man. Oh, the stars. Oh, Hey, seeing goodness of the Lord.<inaudible> he form creatures with his word and then<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> ground tread or gaze upon<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and clouds.<inaudible> burst.

Blow by<inaudible> from<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and every where that man can be. God,<inaudible> The song before the opening prayer will be number 797. Lord, we come before the now seven 97 Lord we come before the ah, ah,<inaudible> ah, Oh, dune. Ah.<inaudible> shall we? The Lord in vain. We see the Lord and<inaudible><inaudible> and calm passion.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> to<inaudible> and I know<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> the God<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Please bow with me.

God, our father in heaven, we come to you at this time, thanking you for the opportunity to assemble here this morning, to sing songs, appraised your great name and study another portion of your word Lord. We’d like to thank you for those amongst the members of this congregation that have found and had improvements in their health, because we know that you are in control of everything.

And we thank you for those that have had improvements. But Lord, we also know that there are many amongst us that are suffering from various illnesses and ailments. And we ask that you wrap your loving arms around each and every one of them. Lord, we, especially at this time would ask you that you wrap your loving arms around Shirley Cozort and ease her pain.

If it be your will. And if it be your will restore her to a measure health that she so desires. We also ask that you wrap your loving arms and comfort the entire Cozort family at this time of their need and comfort. Also each and every one of those that are suffering with loved ones that have illnesses. God. Now, as we prepare to study another portion of your word,

we ask that you help each and every one of us assembled here this morning to have open hearts and open minds so that we can understand the message that Noah brings to us this morning, your message, your word, and we can take and apply that to our lives so that we can be better servants to yours while we’re here on this earth. And we want to thank you for your son,

Jesus, because we know that the sacrifice that he and you made for us, make it possible for us to live with you in eternity. One day we pray all this through his name, amen Song to prepare our minds for the Lord’s supper will be number 332. Lead me to Calvary three, three to King of my life. Crown me, ah,

nah, nine shout Kamari bee. Last for good thorn crown bruh. Ah, me too.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> for me, the me too.<inaudible> show me the two<inaudible><inaudible> and, and Joes and robes Ray. Hey God. At the Watts<inaudible> money.<inaudible><inaudible> me, the me too.<inaudible><inaudible> through the glue, calm with a gift to the show to mean,

ah,<inaudible> the me too.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> for me, the me too.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> for the<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> for<inaudible> for again<inaudible> for me, the me too.<inaudible> As we come together this day, we often sometimes take things I think too lightly about our Savior’s death. And as we look back to the time that he was ready to cue and spit upon the time that he was beaten in the time he was led to the cross and hung there on the cross of Calvary to die for us.

And as we think about that, we need to reflect upon what he’s done for us and the hope that we have through him, that by his dying for us, he made us a way of redemption from our sins and be able to turn back to our God and to our savior, to hopefully have that home and having one day, we want to reflect upon that now,

as we protect the Lord’s supper, and as we have sung this beautiful song to remind us that he did die for us, and he’s always there for us and we gain our strength by going to him, that is pray father, I got in heaven. We know that it was a sad time when your precious son had to go to the cross of Calvary.

We know it was by his own wheel that he went and that he suffered and died for us. And as we reflect upon that father, we’re so grateful and so thankful that we are able to be your children and able to receive that blessing. While there we pray that as we partake of this bread, that we might examine ourselves and make sure that we’re taking of it in a manner worthy Jesus,

we pray amen.<inaudible> Oh God, our fathers. We continue to look to the cross where our savior hung there and he shed his precious blood upon that cross. And there’s through that blood that we have the forgiveness of our sins, opposed to always be mindful, that sacrifice that was made for us. And as we go through life that we will let it show in the way that we conduct ourselves before our fellow man,

they do know that we are your children. And then we have redemption through his blood, right? As we protected this fruit of the vine that we might do. So in a way pleasing is it represents that blood of our savior Jesus, we pray. Amen. Well, I had the opportunity to think about us giving back to the Lord and to be able to continue to conduct the work of the church,

to do our benevolent activities and also to help further the kingdom and supporting those that are teaching and preaching. Not only here, but throughout the world, that they too might come to the knowledge of God’s word and want to be a child of, he is let us pray. Father in heaven, we’ve been so blessed in this country and we’ve been blessed beyond what we really need.

And we pray father that we’re being good stewards of those blessings that we have determined in our hearts to give. And as we’ve been prospered that we’re so thankful to be able to give, to help the work of the church here, as well as in other places in the world that we played pray that we would be liberal with our giving and that we are trying to take care of the needs of those that perhaps are having difficulties with different things in their lives and,

and be very benevolent and how, how we tried to help them, bless us in our efforts, continue to strengthen us as the days, go by help us always to do all to the names honor and glory in Jesus. We pray amen. If you’re using the song book and we’d like to Mark the song of invitation is number 945. Number nine,

four five. It will be on the slides though. The song for our lesson will be number 616, the way of the cross. If you’re able to let stand for this song, please, number 616.<inaudible> I must needs go home by the way of the cross. There’s no other way, but it is shown again outside of the Gates, if the way of the cross,

the way of the<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Sneads go on and blah sprinkles were, Hey, Pat, that save<inaudible><inaudible> to the it’s where the<inaudible> at home with. Ah,<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> then I bet to the way to walk<inaudible> for my Lords. And I see my<inaudible> no way of the cross<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> cross<inaudible>. It was a privilege to be able to be with you this morning.

You able to give you a lesson from God’s word again. I want to thank you all for that opportunity. So we want to be praying for the Cozort family continually and hope everything can go. Well, our lesson this morning is very simple. Our lesson is how to get to heaven, how to get to heaven. This question is the most important question that one can never ask.

What must I do to be saved? What must I do to get to heaven? What must I do to be saved from eternal damnation? That’s the question that we’re going to look at this morning, how to get to heaven. I want to say You to turn over to Matthew chapter seven, this is where we’re going to be this morning, Matthew chapter seven.

And we’re going to see what Jesus can teach us about how to get, how the, the path To heaven. You know, there Is a story of a preacher who, who would tell his, his congregation next week, I’m going to preach the best sermon You’ve ever heard. Of course the congregation, right? They’re excited. Next week Comes around.

The preacher gets up to the pulpit. He reads Matthew five. He reads Matthew six and he reads Matthew seven. And he has preached the best sermon that one could ever preach. And who sermon? It’s not the man’s sermon, but it’s Christ’s sermon. Matthew Five through seven often called the sermon on the Mount is The greatest sermon that anyone has ever preached.

That’s Jesus, Jesus himself is the greatest preacher to ever live, But we’re going to look at Jesus as part of his sermon in Matthew seven on a couple of things, what we need to do in order To get to heaven, you know, Chapter seven details what we must do, but Jesus kind of summed it up in John chapter 14, verse number six,

he says The way the truth and the life, we must heed to the words of Jesus. And if we follow these basic teachings that we’re going to look at this morning, we can go to heaven. It’s a blessing to know that we have all things pertaining to life and godliness. We can know that we have eternal life. If we do what?

If we obey his commandments? The question that we must ask ourselves, is this, are we going to Follow the commandments from Christ as Christ did from his father in John chapter 12, notice verse 49, John chapter 12, verse 49 for I’ve not spoken of my Self, but the father which sent me, he gave me a commandment. What I should say and what I should speak.

Jesus himself, obey the father. Are we going to obey the commands of Christ? So let’s get it Nor less than firstly, our first point this morning, if we were going to get to heaven, we have to judge righteously. Let’s go back to Matthew chapter seven and look at it. Verse number one real quick notice Jesus says, judge, not that you may not judge.

How, how often or what context do you hear? People use this verse. You can’t judge me. You can’t Tell me what to do. Even Jesus himself has, Has said that. Looking at this context, Jesus is not condemning judging at all. He’s condemning hypocrisy. He’s condemning sinful judging. There is a difference. So we need to understand that.

But yet you’ve heard people say, stop judging me. Or Jesus says, don’t judge. You. Can’t tell me how My life. That’s not what Jesus is saying here for one year, Christian is commanded to discern right from wrong. Are we not Ephesians chapter five, notice Verse number 11 and have no fellowship With the unfruitful works of darkness. Rather what reprove them,

get them out. Expose them, expose the sin in the camp. We have to, we’re commanded to purge out the 11. Are we not? We need to, to, to purge out sin and we have to practice church discipline. Do we not? When my brother who is a Saint Or living in sin, Jesus gives us the commands. I want to turn to Matthew 18 for a bit.

A moment. Matthew chapter 18. I want you to notice 15 through 17 here on the commands. Here we are commanded To, to push sin out of the way because a little 11, 11, and it’s a whole lump. A little bit of sin can affect many people, but notice Matthew Chapter 18. Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee,

go in, go and tell him his fault between the and him alone. This is a, this is Personal. Notice how, as he continues, if he shall hear that Again, my brother, but if he will not hear the verse 16, then take then take with the one or two more. Then the mouth of two or three witnesses everywhere may be established.

Notice verse 17. And if he shall neglect to hear them tell under the church, but neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican. I thought Jesus said that we weren’t supposed to judge. Now we are, we are commanded to expose sin. And when one who is not going to repent the act of marking him and things such as that come into place.

Now, are we rude to this person? No, we’re not rude. Second desolate Chapter three verse 15 says yet, count him not as an Enemy, but admonish him as a brother when there was someone in the congregation or someone in the church that, that you know who is living in sin and they will not repent. You try to get them back as fast as possible.

Why? Because we don’t know when Christ is going to come. Yes, we are commanded to, to note the difference from wrong and right First Corinthians chapter five and verse number five. I want you to notice that real quick, first Corinthians chapter For five. Notice what Paul says to the Corinthians. First Corinthians chapter five in verse number five. Notice Liver is such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh That notice this why at the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

Jesus. We expose sin. Not because we don’t like the person, not just to get back at the person. We judge to make sure that their soul is saved. That’s why we should judge righteously. But going back to our text in order for us to get to heaven, we have to judge righteously. But what does it mean to judge righteously?

Does that mean to judge off of opinions? No, that’s not what Jesus is saying. Let’s look, look ever. Verse number two as well. For, with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged. And with what measure you meet, it shall be measured to you again. Let’s look At verses three through five, continuing. And why behold is now the moat that is in my brother’s eye.

But consider is not the beam that is not Oh nine or how with outside of my brother, let me pull out the mote out of<inaudible> and behold, a beam is in nine Oh nine thou hypocrite first cast out the out of nine Oh Nine and then shot that clearly see to cast out the mote out of my brother’s eyes. Jesus, Jesus hear,

I love when Jesus uses uses humor. Just imagine this man with this two by four hanging out of his eye and trying to pick out the little tiny speck and his brother’s eye. Jesus said there was no logic to that. We need to make sure that if we were, if we were going to judge righteously in order to get to heaven, what must we first do?

Jesus says, fix yourself. Make sure that you as a Christian are living faithfully. I have no right to tell you to stop lying. If I have the same problem myself, I have no authority to tell you to, to, to live faithfully. If I can not do the same myself, we need to remember to fix our own selves. Notice first Corinthians nine in verse 27,

Paul says the same idea. He says, I keep my body under or excuse me. I keep under my body and bring it this objection. That’s the, by any means. But now I’ve preached to others. I myself should be a Castaway. I need to fix myself first. And then I can go in and judge, the word judge is to call into question to,

to distinguish. That’s what the word judge means to, to, to, to distinguish right from wrong. In this instance, we need to understand, I want you to notice Romans two verses 21 and following as well now, therefore, which teaches another teaches thou not thyself thou that preaches the man should not steal dust out. Steal thou that says to man should not commit adultery,

desktop committed adultery that at abortus aisles does document sacrilege. Now that make us the boast of the law, that through breaking the law dishonors thou God, we need to make sure that our lives as Christians are right before we go out until others, their fault. That’s how we judge righteously. Let’s make sure we are living faithfully before we go and preach and teach to others.

You know, the world is not going to listen. Someone’s not going to listen to a hypocrite. Someone’s not going to listen to them. We need to make sure our lives are and as Christians are right. But if we are going to judge righteously as well, not only must we fix your own selves, but also another requirement is we judge with righteous judgment.

What’s righteous judgment. Well, John chapter seven, verse 24, Jesus says don’t judge, according to the appearance, but judge, with what righteous judgment, what is righteous judgment? It’s not opinion opinion. Doesn’t matter to God, God didn’t. Didn’t ask Adam what? Well, how do you want me to form peeve? You, you choose. He didn’t ask Noah.

He said, you, you choose the wood. Whatever. You know, he, he gave a specific command opinion in most, in some instances does not matter to God. He’s given us some Liberty on some things, but there are specific things that he is required. But notice we ought to, to judge to call into question, according to how Jesus notice John 12,

verse 48, according to the Bible, notice John 12, verse 48. He that rejects me and receive. It’s not my words. Hath one that judges him. The word that I have spoken the same shall judge him in the last day we judge, we call him the question we speak from God’s word. Not my opinion. Not know his opinion,

not, not, not anybody’s opinion. It’s only from God’s word that we have the authority to do that. If I’m going to judge righteously and to get to heaven, I also must understand that my motive it has to be right. My motive is not to get back at the person. My motive is not just to make myself look good. My motive is not just to make everybody against that person.

Now my motive, again, as we stated this, to get that sold, I want you to notice. I love Galatians six and verse number one, Galatians chapter six and verse number one, I love what Paul says here. Notice what he says. Brethren. If a man be overtaken in a fault, you at your spiritual restore trust in one,

such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering myself less than I’ll also be tempted. Why do we go this brother-in-law or brother, why do, why do we go to this brother or sister and tell them their fault so that they can come back. But also, so we are not tempted to the congregation or the church abroad is not falling to sin,

but our motive must be not to, to our motive must be correct. And James chapter five also wants you to notice 1920. Notice what James says, James five, 19 and 20. He says brethren, if any of you do earth from the truth and one convert him, let him know verse 20. He which he would say she converted the sinner from the error of his way,

shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins. That is why, that is why we approach. And that is why we are to judge righteous land, to make sure that sin is out of the camp. And you go back to Aiken. What happened when, when akin sin, who is affected, not just akin whole congregation,

we need to make sure sin is out as soon as so destructive, Romans chapter six, verse 23 wages of sin is what death, spiritual death. And we need to make sure that sin is out of the camp every day. We need to purge that. Let’s go back to Matthew chapter seven. I want you to notice verse number six as well in the,

in the context, you’re still judging. Notice what Jesus says. Give not that, which is Holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine lest. They trample them under their feet and turn again and render you. What is Jesus meaning here? I think sometimes there comes a point in some people lives when, when you bring them to the gospel that they’re too stubborn,

too stubborn to, to, to, to listen. Jesus would say to the apostles in Matthew chapter 10, verse 14, that you just have to shake the dust off your feet and go your way. Because sadly, there are those who will just not repent. Who are, I don’t want to say they’re there. No one is ever too far gone.

But sadly, there were some who hardened their hearts. How much they, according to their will, according to their choices will not repent. Now could they? Yes, but they have to choose that. But we as Christians need to understand that we can not give up just because of one, we have to keep on, keeping on. We have to keep on doing the things that God would have us to do.

Yes. We need to judge righteous sleep. Let me ask you, let’s ask this question. When we judge, when we are calling into question, when we are discerning, as we’ll talk about here in a little bit as well, who should we go to for wisdom? I think we should go to God. Let’s look at verses seven through 11 here.

Notice in Matthew chapter seven, seven through 11, It says ask. And it shall be given you seek and you shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you for every one that asked to receive it. Then he, that seeketh findeth and to him that knock it, that shall be open or what man is there of you whom have his son asks for bread will give him a stone.

Or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to unto your children? How much more shall your father, which isn’t it. Kevin give good things to them to ask him, you know, as we, as Christians should, should note something in every situation we should always go before the father.

Should we not? We should come before the father. And specifically in this instance, when we are judging, when we are discerning, what is our motive? W w we need to ask ourselves, is this true biblical evaluation? Or is this just my opinion? We need to go before the father. And what’s interesting. I love what Jesus says here.

He says, if you, you, you is, is people can give good gifts to your children. Yet. The father Who is the most powerful being in the universe, How much more can he give you? James? One verse 17 tells us that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the father of lights. Isn’t our father.

So awesome and awesome. God. He is. And we need to understand that we should always trust him. Matthew six, verse 33, but seek ye first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness and what all these things shall be added unto you. We love you. We should love what the father has done for us. Be thankful. And when we are In situations,

such as maybe approaching a brother, let’s go to God because we ask what does Jesus say? Verse eight, again, for everyone that asks<inaudible> I hate that. Seek it, find it. Isn’t him knocking the shabby, open James chapter one also. And the verses five Through eight, James would say, if any of you lack wisdom, Let him ask of God.

God has all the answers. And when we pray, how, how does he speak? It’s not going to be some miraculous endowment. No, we haven’t To study. Prairie is never a substitute for study. We need to understand that praying to God helps us a lot. And when you understand that every day, but yes, when we are judging,

when we are coming Up to a brother, maybe that is living in sin, Let’s pray about it as well. But also notice verse 12 of Matthew, chapter seven, therefore, all things whatsoever you would, that men should do to you do even so to them for this is the law and the prophets. What is this often called the golden rule,

right? I like the word to should here, because this means that how they ought to be how they ought to be biblically, how would I want to be judged? How would you want to be judged? According to man’s opinion? According to this brother’s Idea. No, I want to be judged from the Bible, whatever the Bible says. And that’s how we ought to judge.

According to God’s word questions we have to ask, are we binding where the Bible doesn’t bind? Are we losing where the Bible doesn’t lose? We need to ask ourselves when we are judging, when we are going up to a brother in the church, we need to go to them with humility and with God’s word in that alone. Yes. Firstly, if we were going to get to heaven,

we must judge, right? But secondly, if we are going to get to heaven, we must choose right? There is a choice. Let’s look at verses 13 and 14 of Matthew seven, enter you in at the straight gate for wide is the gate. And broad is the way that Leah’s to destruction and many there be which go in their own because Is the gate and narrow is the way which leads on to life.

And few there be that, find it. You know, since then Beginning, there’s always been a choice, right? There’s always been a choice. There’s not some unconditional election. God doesn’t well, I’m a choose you. And I won’t choose. You know, the God has always allowed us to choose. I like Joshua 24. And you know,

you’ve heard verse 15 before notice John Joshua 24 15. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord shoes, notice that word, choose you this day, whom you will serve, whether the gods, Which your father served that were on the other side of the flood Or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But notice what Joshua says.

He says, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. There’s always been a choice. God gives us that choice. That’s up to us. Yeah. We have two choices. There’s there’s not more than that. And you know, our denominational friends like to tell us, well, I’m just taking a different route to heaven.

No, Jesus says that. I’m the way, I’m the truth. And I’m the life. There’s either Christ’s way or there’s the world’s way. And, and there’s not partial obedience. I want you to notice this quote and I love this quote, notice to be almost persuaded as to be almost saved and to be almost saved as be entirely lost. There’s there’s either full for God or full for the world.

There’s not partial obedience with God. But with that choice, as we’ve talked about, we have a choice. You and I, we have the choice that we have. We’re given that there’s two choices. Again, firstly, as Jesus talks about going back to our text, Matthew seven, there’s a wide way. There’s, there’s a, there’s a wide,

the wide path. And this gate is broad and golfs many people, but guess what it is pleasurable, it feels good. First John two and verse 16 says for all those in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, all those things that man loves makes them feel good. That’s that’s this way.

And you, you get to enjoy the pleasures of sin. You get to, you don’t Have to feel bad about anything you do. You get to live for Yourself every day. It’s all about you. I want you to notice something and Hebrews chapter 11, Hebrews chapter 11, I want you to notice what the Hebrew writer says about Moses choosing rather To suffer affliction with the people Of God than to enjoy.

Notice this, the pleasures of sin or seasoned sin. Doesn’t sin only lasts for a season and yes, this way might feel good. You might get to Do what you want to do, live how you want To live yet. Sadly, this one makes this, this way, makes me An enemy of God, James four in verse number four. He adulterers.

And adulteresses no you not that the friendship, The world is what enmity with God and whosoever is going to be a friend of the world is what an enemy of God being an enemy of God’s that’s a scary thing. It’s not, we need to understand that. No, we can’t choose this way. And sadly, many, many seek to enter the other way.

See they want th that the narrow way they want the straight way. Maybe they, they try. I seek it, but something’s holding them back from leaving this wide way. Sadly many will be lost. That’s a sad thing. Is it not this way is not this way. Again, as it was pleasurable, it might be easy. It’s big.

Many people go in. Yeah, sadly it’s eternal destruction. It’s not pleasant revelation 21. And verse number eight tells us that there’s going to be fire and brimstone. This is eternal damnation. This is, this is torments Burning and the fires of hell forever. It’s not going to last a thousand years, 10,000 years. It’s forever. But also this it’s going to be away from the presence of God.

That’s a sad thing. And to think, to replay in your head over and over again, Jesus walking away from you for ever. That’s a sad thing, but Jesus says there is another way. Going back to Matthew chapter seven, what does he say? He also says that there is a narrow way, a straight way. This word narrow is interesting.

When I was Looking at this word narrow, it means difficult. It means suffered. Tribulus. It’s a, it’s a hard way. This, this, this way. It requires endurance. Second Timothy four, six through eight. The title, No, my departure is at hand paraphrase and I fought a good fight. I finished the course. I’ve kept the faith.

What does Paul say? In verse eight henceforth, there is laid it for me. A crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day and not to me only, but to all them that love his appearing this way is the way to go this way. Again, as we stated with Moses, it’s hard. Moses chose rather to suffer affliction with the people Of God and do enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

And this way leads to an everlasting life with God. We should look forward to that. It’s going to be hard. You’re Going to have temptations. You’re going to have trials in your life. Of course, God does not promise perfection just to a perfect life. I will say this. The destination is a beautiful one. I heard a joke, a story choke about,

about the, the, the, the joys of heaven. There was a, an old man and his wife. They, they died and they went to heaven and Peter was, was showing them around heaven, right? And he’s like, he shows them this, this mansion. He says, this is, this is yours. You get this. And they said,

how much, how much do we have to pay for? And Peter says, no, no, that’s yours. It’s in heaven. This is yours. And he shows them a beautiful car. And how much do we have to pay for it? He says, no, it’s yours. They get to the golf course, golf course. And, and the man says how much you have to pay for it.

And Peter’s like, Nope, it’s all free. And the man looks to his wife and he says, why did you feed me those rice cake and vegetables? I could have been eating all this cake and gotten here to heaven sooner, funny thing. And we now understand doesn’t, haven’t going to be beautiful. I think it is no, we’re not going to have any material things,

just a little illustration there, but we need to choose, right. We need to choose the path to heaven. And if we do, man, it’s going to be beautiful. Number three third, let’s go back to our texts this morning. If we’re going to get to heaven for a third point, we have to discern, right? What does it mean to discern,

to discern means to recognize or identify? We did kind of talk about this a little bit. Let’s talk about this as Jesus. Notice Matthew seven, verse 15, but where are false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly, they are ravening wolves. There are going to be those who want to deceive, right? They’re going to be those who want to persuade men to do other things,

to do other things of the world, to go with false doctrine. And yet some are wolves in sheep’s clothing. False prophets are not going to have a sign on their shirt saying false prophet, false prophet with blinking lights. They’re not going to come up to the pulpit and say, hold on, be prepared. I’m a false prophet. I’m about to deceive.

You know, they’re going to come in sheep’s clothing. They’re going to look like the rest yet. They are deceiving us. Notice. Second Corinthians chapter 11, 13 through 15, second Corinthians 11, 13 through 15 for such are false apostles. Deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ and no Marvel for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Notice that therefore it is no great thing. If his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works, even Satan himself comes into seat for ways. And sadly, there might even be those in the church. No, they look good. They might sound good. They might be the best and the outward.

And then the really, what does Jesus say? They’re ravening. What was, but yes, we, as Christians have to discern, we have to make sure that we are checking. You know, this morning has giving you the gospel. I hope that you just don’t take my word for it. Now. I, I’m not purposely teaching. I hope I’m not saying anything falsely.

Or there could be an instance that preachers say something accidentally that I don’t know, therefore each and every one should make sure the scriptures and the preacher that the teacher is saying something right now, we need to discern you acts chapter 17. Verse number 11 tells us that they searched the scriptures daily to what make sure that these things were were so, and we need to understand that,

but yes, we have to be adamant about testing. One another notice going back to our text verses 16 through 20. Notice what Jesus says about fruit. You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of missiles, even so every good tree bring it forth, good fruit, but a corrupt tree. Bring it forth.

Evil fruit, a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit. Neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that brings us not forth. Good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruit roots. You shall know them. We need to not only discern who is teaching or our brethren, we’ll have to discern ourselves.

We have to look at ourselves. Are we living righteously? Philippians two in verse 12 says work out your own salvation. Yes, we, we need to, to watch out for, for others to make sure that their souls are living faithfully as well. We’re responsible for us. We need to make sure of that. Second Corinthians 13 in verse number five,

examine yourself, make sure discern yourselves, make sure that you were living faithfully. As we talked about before, before you go out and tell others, you have to make sure you’re living faithfully as well. And yet, sadly, sometimes I think going back to talking about those who teach falsely thinking that they can hide thinking that they can blend in, Oh,

they might be able to fool you. They might be able to fool me, but they will never, ever, ever full gone their work will be. He brought out, I love numbers, chapter 32 and verse number 23 numbers, 32, 23 notice. But if you will not do so behold, you have sinned against the Lord. Notice this next phrase and be sure your sin will fall.

Sand’s going to be brought to light whether on this earth or whether in judgment, second Corinthians five verse number 10, we’re going to, to what? Up here before everyone is going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Yes, we have to discern. We have to make sure that we know right from wrong. We have to make sure that our lives as Christians are living faithfully.

And to say that that everything is okay. Now we need to discern, as Jesus talks about, you know, first John chapter one in verse number five, John says that this is the message, which we’ve heard in declarance to you. That God is light. Nim is no darkness at all in him is no darkness at all. We need to understand that we have to push out the 11 push out sin every day of our lives.

Bless notice our last point for this morning. If we we’re going to get to heaven, we fourthly and lastly must have to build, right? Let’s go back to our texts. Look at verses 24 Through 27, we’re going to come back to verses 21 through 23 at the end. But let’s look at verses 24 through 27, as Jesus is going to give a kind of analogy or illustration Here.

He says, therefore, whosoever, heareth these sayings of mine and do with them. I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house. And it fell not for, it was founded upon a rock and everyone that hears these sayings of mine and do it.

Them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain is descent and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that. The house and it fell and great was the fall of it. Now, again, we talked about, we have two choices in reality, there’s only two choices,

the world Satan or gone. And so again, you look at these, these, these two people they both heard, right? They both, they both heard, they both built, but one of them didn’t do something. They both faced the storms of life, but one of them did not do the words of who? Of Christ. Yeah. He built his house.

He didn’t have a solid foundation. The outcome was different. Let’s look at the first man, the first person, the first man did what he built his house on Christ. And we, as Christians have to do that every day of loss, every single one of us have to do that. First Corinthians three, look at verse number 11, first Corinthians three and verse number 11.

Notice what Paul says here. He says for other foundation can no man, lay than that is laid, which is what Christ Jesus Christ. That’s where our foundation must be laid. We have to have him as our cornerstone. That’s our foundation. And this man, This man, he didn’t just hear The word. He also did the word James one in verse.

Number two says what we have to be doers of the word, not hearers only. We can’t be only those who hear. We have to do something about it. And yet, sadly those in Psalm and denominations, like to say faith alone, faith alone, go out. I like to use this analogy. When talking about that idea, last Noah,

how he built the Ark by faith alone. I don’t think, I don’t think he’d look at you like what he had to do something. There was a story about one who was golfing with his friend. Of course he was a Christian. And the other was, I believe of a denomination who taught faith alone and they are talking about faith and they got on the green.

And of course the, the faith alone preacher person got up to putt and The Christian was I no, no, no. Hold on, hold on. You. You have to put that in by what? Faith alone. Because faith alone doesn’t require action. Faith alone doesn’t require action. Does it? Doesn’t and the one was like, yeah, you got me there.

The faith plus works equals salvation. Not faith alone. I have to build, I have to do it upon Christ. I want you to notice also something about what this man faced. You know, he still felt face trials, even though his house was built upon the rock, even though it was built upon spiritually Christ, he still faced trials. Notice as we’ve talked about a second,

as we talked about the rains descended verse 25 and the floods came, the winds blew. He might’ve had some scratches. He might’ve even had some, maybe a minor damage on the house, but it never fell. Why? Because it was built on the rock. Second Timothy three verse number 12 year old that should live godly in Christ. Jesus will suffer persecution again.

As we’ve talked about, the way is hard. It’s narrow. It it’s difficult, but we, if we live faithfully, there’s, there’s a requirement we’ll never fall. Now, can we fall away if we choose to? Yes, but if we continue until our lives are over, I forgot is for us, who can, who can stand against us?

We got God on our side. We should be thankful for that. But what about the other man on the sand? He built his house upon the sand and this man, like, like the other Island, unlike the other, he had a faulty foundation. He didn’t build his foundation upon Christ. His foundation was tied to man known as Colossians two and number eight,

but where lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ, that’s where his foundation was. And this man forgot who he was spiritually. He didn’t, he didn’t, he didn’t build his foundation. Right? And, and when the trials of life were upon him, what happened?

He fell. He didn’t have a good foundation. He, he, he was destroyed. You know, pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall. We’re going to be humble enough to do the necessary things, to build right. To make sure that our foundation is correct. Because if our foundation is correct, we can build upon that.

And that basically has a Christian, but yes, if we’re going to get to heaven, we have to build a right. But the question is, what are we going to do as Christians on this earth? And we’re going to judge, right? Are we going to choose the right path? Are we going to discern and build right as Christians? If we cannot do these simple things,

we will not be able to go to heaven. We need to choose the path and keep on that straight and narrow. But the question remains to each and every individual will we make that sacrifice. Galatians two verse number 20. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live yet. Not I, but Christ liveth in me and the life that I now live in.

The flesh. I live by the faith in the son of God, loved me and gave himself for me. We need to live our lives as sacrifices. And perhaps there was one here this morning who has not chosen the, the, the path of heaven. Perhaps you have not started the journey. Maybe, perhaps you hearing the word now, do you believe that Jesus is the son of God?

Do you believe that that he came down to die for you so that you could have eternal life? Would you be willing to repent of your sins? Confess Christ before man, and be baptized for the remission of sins to start that journey? That’s just the start that’s, that’s just the beginning. And then you get to live faithfully forever. If you choose to do so,

and you get to go to heaven, but perhaps you’ve already done. So, and you have not been living as a Christian. You haven’t been judging, right? You haven’t chosen the right path. You haven’t discerned, right? And you have not built and continued there on, would you come back to God before it is? Everlastingly too late. I know I’ve used this analogy many times.

Imagine the, the father waiting every day for you to come home so he can have you a part of his fold. Once again, second Peter three verse nine. The Lord is not Slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness, but notice this as long suffering towards us, not willing to in any should perish, but that all should come back to repentance.

But it’s up to you to make that choice. If anyone is subject, and once you come as we stand and as we see<inaudible> lift up your voice, leave with him<inaudible> and began life<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Jesus. Well, me<inaudible> Neil at the cross<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Jesus. Well meet you there, Neil, at the cross,

give y’all ride<inaudible> to nada, to life. Sparkling cop trust always<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible>. Jesus will meet you.<inaudible> The song. Before our closing prayer will be number 867 to Canaan’s land I’m on my way, eight, six, seven, two Cain and land. I’m on my way where the<inaudible> never jog my dark ass. Nah, well,

turn to day where the<inaudible> never<inaudible> no,<inaudible> no,<inaudible><inaudible> and<inaudible> a Rose and this blew me there. Fuck me where the<inaudible> and<inaudible> where the<inaudible> never ah, no<inaudible> no,<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> never love light beams.<inaudible><inaudible> never de<inaudible><inaudible> no,<inaudible> no,<inaudible><inaudible> I’m on my way to that fan land where there’s<inaudible> where there will be no partying and where there’s<inaudible> never ah,

no,<inaudible> no,<inaudible><inaudible> and<inaudible> Let’s pray. Father who art in heaven. We thank thee for the freedom that we have to come and meet on the first day of the weekend for your children to worship fi and sang the songs of praise. And today we pray that we will always have these freedoms in this country. We always be able to come and,

and gather without fear of home. We pray that you would be with those that have been mentioned today that are sick and unable to be with us. We pray that you would be with the Cozort family and the health of Aaron’s grandmother. We pray that things will go well with her and keep them safe. As they travel back and forth, we pray that you would go with us now and keep us safe.

Do we meet again and crash? And we pray. Amen.

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01-24-2021 – Sunday AM Class and Worship (Noah Olsen)

In Bible Classes Videos, Jesus, Live Streams, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

01-24-2021 – Luke 12:22-13:9 (Class)
Noah Olsen preaching Sermon
Collierville Church of Christ
575 Shelton Road, #Collierville, TN
www.colliervillecoc.org

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<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Welcome to our Sunday morning Bible class. I’m recording this according this Saturday night, Saturday night. Want to want to let all of you know that right now, my grandmother is still with us. They’ve given her meds and she finally has started sleeping. She really hasn’t slept any of the last 20 hours, 20 hours in any substance,

in any substantive way, but appreciate, appreciate your all’s prayers for us. She’s in a lot of discomfort at this point, at this point in time, but thankfully the, the medication has made it to where she could sleep. So thank you for your, thank you for your thoughts, your prayers, and all the, all the contacts and the messages that we’ve received,

letting us know, letting us know that you’re thinking about us and her and praying for us. And we appreciate it. Greatly. Also want to say also want to say thank you to Noah for filling in for me preaching this morning. Let’s get in, let’s get into Luke chapter 12. We’re going to continue our study in Luke chapter 12, beginning verse 22 as we get started,

but let’s begin with a word of prayer. Our gracious father gracious father in heaven. Rebal before you incredibly incredibly grateful for all of your many gifts, your many blessings, most especially most, especially your son who died on the cross for our sins and has delayed as delivered to us the hope of eternal life. We pray that as we pray that as we go through this period of study,

the things which Christ Christ spoke while he was on this earth will enlighten our hearts and help us to incur, to be encouraged by the things that we read, but also to be provoked, to be, to be what you would have us to be. We ask that you forgive us. When we sin and fall short of your glory, we pray all this.

We pray in Jesus name. Amen. So as a result, so as a result of not being there and not having them in front of me, I’m going to leave the review of the questions Wednesday night for another period. Hopefully this coming Wednesday night or Sunday, we can go over those. So I encourage you to study those on your own. We’re going to begin in Luke chapter 12,

verse 22. Then he, then he Christ said to his disciples, therefore I say to you do not worry about your life. What you will eat nor about the body. What you will put on life is more than food in the body. More than clothing. I remember the context of this that actually began in our, in our study on Wednesday night,

there is a man who came to Jew, came to Jesus and said, tell my, tell my brother to give me or to divide with me, inherit the inherited. He said, Jesus said, may have I been made a judge or a arbitrator between you and your brother, and then gave the parable of the rich fool follows. He follows the parable of the rich fool up with this statement,

therefore, or do not be worried, do not worry about your life. This is a, this is a similar statement that is made over in. We saw in the sermon on the mountain, made over in Matthew chapter six. But Jesus said, as he speaks to this man, as he speaks to those who are around, as he speaks to his disciples who are listening to this,

and they’re seeing this, he says, do not worry, do not worry for the things of this world. Life do not focus, do not focus on this life, especially, especially in this context to the neglect of these next life of eternity. This man, this man is standing before Christ. He standing before the Messiah, he’s standing before the one who the Israelites were waiting to arrive for 1600 years.

And what is he? What is he worried about? His inherit, his inheritance he’s missed. He’s missed the importance of everything that is right in front of him because he’s because he’s too worried about physical possession. So then Jesus. So then Jesus says this life is more than food. Verse 23 and the body more than clothing. Consider the consider the Ravens for they neither sow nor reap,

which have, which have neither storehouse nor barn. And God feeds them of how much more value are you than the birds. And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature. If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Jesus, Jesus lays upon them. The reality that they’re not in control,

they’re not, they’re not in charge and much effort as they might expand, expand in order to, in order to achieve their own goals, they can’t do the smallest of things in view of God’s ability, God’s power and God’s power with a word, with a word. God spoke the universe into existence with all, with all of our thought and being an effort we can’t fall by fault,

extend our life even for an, even for an hour. And here and here, Jesus let Jesus lays for reality. The reality that This person is missing greatest thing, the thing of greatest value in his own, in his own life, the value of his soul, if he has, if he has his soul and he has salvation and he has the kingdom,

then the inheritance and the inheritance is of little consequence in the grand scheme of things. But instead, it’s the only thing he’s thinking about. And notice he then notice he goes on. If then you are not able to do the least, why are you anxious to do the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin.

And yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed. Like one of these, if then God. So clothes, the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven. How much more will he clothe you? Oh, you of little faith and do not do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink,

nor have an anxious mind for all of these things. The nations of the world seek after. And your father knows that you need these things. See, but see the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you. Jesus, Jesus emphasizes that we need that. We need to prioritize correctly. I need to learn. We need to lay forth our priorities in the right order.

And when we do that, God can, God can take care of the rest and is knowledgeable and understanding of what it is that we need. He created us to begin with. Of course he knows what we mean. Of course he knows what is required to sustain our daily life. So Jesus, so Jesus is saying you’ve, you’ve lost the Hey and the confidence you have in your father,

your eternal father. And instead you buy your own mind and your own ability or striving to accomplish these things. And you can Can’t do it, not on your own, Not on your own. And if you try, you will miss. You will miss. What is of the greatest value to you. And that is eternity. Do not fear, do not fear.

Little flock, 32 verse 32, four. It is your father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Jesus said, Jesus said, not only will God give you the things that you need. Not only will God take care of your daily provisions, but he will also give you, which is that, which is of greatest value His kingdom. And he will,

and he will do it gladly. Now here’s the contract. Now here’s the contrast. There’s the, there’s the brother who has an inheritance that he won’t share with his brother and the other brother. The other brother wants the inheritance to be shared with him. And he’s looking for anybody who can get him. Part of that inheritance yet. He’s missing it.

He’s missed out on the opportunity to receive the kingdom. God is God is over here with the kingdom of greater value than his inheritance. And he’s waiting anxiously desiring to give it to the man, but the man’s not, but the man’s not interested because he’s interested in Fashions in, in this life. Jeez, Jesus said, Jesus said, sell what you sell,

what you have. You have all and give alms, provide yourselves money bags, which do not grow old treasury, a treasure in heavens that does not fail. No where no thief approaches nor moth destroys for where your treasure is there. Your heart will be also, I don’t believe. I don’t believe this is a blanket statement by Jesus. That every person,

every person who’s going to have entrance into the kingdom has to go sell all of their possessions and give it to the poor. It’s not, that’s not what Jesus is saying here. Remember, remember, he’s talking to his disciples, but he’s also talking to this man, this man wants more possessions. And Jesus said for fit what you Have first forfeit,

Forfeit, what you have for the sake of the kingdom. And then we’ll, and then we’ll see where your treasure, where your treasure is there. And then we’ll see where your heart is. Get your, get your heart right first or all, or all the, all the, the substance, all the possessions, all the treasures in the world.

Won’t do you Any good because one of these, because one of these days, you’re Going to, you’re going to leave this Life and you’re not taking, you’re not taking any of it with you and yet, And yet do what you do with it. Now can as hand as he makes this, as he makes the statement here, create or provide yourselves money Bags and account and account.

As I think, as I think Peter States it as Paul certainly States it in Philippians four in heaven that cannot be touched. It cannot be, it cannot be stolen. The, the dollar us dollar currently, currently, and in, in the upcoming years, the, the federal reserve has said that they are going to try and wholly inflation to around two to two and a half percent.

That means I means every year, you’re the, you’re the value of a dollar. You have decreases by two and a half Per cent. Now think about now, think about that. If, If you have a hundred dollar bill, how many, how many years until that hundred dollar bill at a decreasing rate of two and a half percent, every year is value is valueless.

And it wasn’t even, it wasn’t even stolen. It was stolen. It was stolen by inflation. It was inflated. It was inflated to the point where it had no real U value. There was a time and there was a time in American history where Penny’s could actually could actually buy something. And now we, and now we regularly hear the discussion about whether or not we should even have pennies anymore because,

because they have been flayed inflated out of value, the value that is worth anything Substantive. Now, now Jesus, Jesus said where your, where your treasure is there. Your heart will be also where you, where you make preparations for your treasure to be where you actually store up. Your treasure is where your heart is, where your heart is. So if also,

if all your efforts in all of your game and all of your prosperity and all of your, your use of time and money in substance goes towards achieving more possessions in this life, more accounts or accounts, larger dollar amounts and larger things, more possessions, all of these things. Then Jesus said, you’ve put, you’ve put your heart into a treasure that has,

that has no Lasting value, but 35 versus 35. Okay? He says, he says, let your waist be girded. And your lamps burning. Luke gives us, gives us a transition here from, from the dizzy discussion of possessions, to the discussion, to the discussion of the kingdom And preparation. He says, He says to his disciples, let your waist be girded.

This was an action done in preparation for battle. Quite often, he said, let your, let your waist be girded. And your lamps burning, familiar were familiar with the parable of the, of the first verge, the 10 virgins. Some of them had burning lamps ready to go. Others did and others didn’t. And you yourselves be like men who wait for the master when he will return for the w excuse me,

who will, excuse me, who will wait for their master? When he will return from the wedding, that he may know that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately. It’s an interesting statement That they will open to him immediately. Immediately. Why would a servant not open to his master when the, the master arrives at the door and knocks,

why would a servant not open immediately think about it this way. This is pointed out by brother Franklin camp. And in this passage, he said, you know, sometimes someone comes over to visit the house and you’re not ready for them. You weren’t planning on them and, and their stuff everywhere. And the house looks lived in. And, and,

and you just, before you even go answer the door, you’re shoving stuff in the closet. You’re putting stuff in our room. You’re tidying up. You’re not prepared. And so where are they? They’re standing at the door waiting. You didn’t open the door immediately. Why? Because you weren’t prepared here. The illustration Jesus gives is that type of servant who is not ready for the master’s return.

And so instead of immediately opening the door, he’s scurrying around to become prepared at the last minute. But notice what Jesus says blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, we’ll find watching assuredly. I Say to you that he will gird himself and Have them sit down to eat and we’ll come and serve them. Jesus goes so far to say this.

Jesus said, I am looking for a servant, not who’s got the house prepared for when I return. I’m looking for a servant. Who’s watching for my return. The master doesn’t even come and knock. The master. Doesn’t spend any time outside waiting. The servant, sees him coming and opens the door. No wait time. But then the reaction of the master is to serve the servant.

Now, yes, I know that Jesus will say in Luke chapter 19, that, or chapter 17, that when we’ve done all that we’ve been commanded to do, we are still unprofitable servants. I understand that. But Jesus is saying the master in the kingdom will serve the servants to do what they need because they sought first. The kingdom goes right back to what he was just saying.

If you will seek first the kingdom. Yeah. If you will be prepared, if you will be watching, if you will be a good servant, then your heavenly father will serve. You will provide for you. But know this verse 39. That is if the master of the house had known what hour the thief let’s actually go back to verse three.

And if he, you should come in the second watch or come in the third watch and find them so blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, had not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, you also be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour.

You do not expect. He’s telling me these people and he’s telling his disciples. And he’s telling those who will listen. You be ready, always because when Christ returns there won’t be any signs. There won’t be in a great announcement. There won’t be any seasons to look at the forecast. There will be no signs of Christ return. Instead they are to be,

be prepared. Always. Then Peter said to him, Lord, do you speak this parable only to us or to all people? It’s interesting to notice when Jesus gets asked a question, how sometimes, sometimes he doesn’t just answer the question he answers what’s needed. And not necessarily what’s. I asked the Lord said, who then, then is a faith.

Is that faithful? And why steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household and to give them their portion of food doozies season, bless it is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, by master is delaying his coming and begins to beat the male servants and female servants and to eat and to drink and to be drunk.

The master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour, when he is not aware and will cut him into an appoint him, his portion with the unbelievers and that servant who knew his masters will and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know yet committed things,

deserving of stripes shall be beaten with view. For everyone to whom much is given from him, much will be required. And to whom much has been committed of him, they will ask the more Jesus replies to Peter, that God has entrusted to individual’s responsibility and has entrusted to them, the work of the kingdom, the care, and providing for of the kingdom,

the function of the kingdom. And if those servants failed to carry out their obligation, or if they become those who think, you know what Christ isn’t returning anytime soon, I’ve got time to fix it later. I can glorify myself right now and I can do his will later crisis. That’s not going to work out for that person. That individual will be judged.

Now think about it. This is truly an accusation against the scribes and the Pharisees, the chief priests, the Sadducees, and the religious leaders, because prophetically speaking, the prophets would look forward to the days of Christ. And they would proclaim that the shepherds that were supposed to be shepherding Israel had instead chosen to consume the flock. And he’s about to transition to a discussion of a flock.

He’s about to use the old Testament analogy of the shepherds and the flock and the evil shepherds who would be judged. And that was the scribes, the Pharisees, the chief priests and the religious leaders of the day. So verse 49, I came to send fire on the earth and how I wish it were already kindled, but I have a baptism to be baptized with and how distressed I am till it is accomplished at,

at times, Jesus will begin to give insight into what’s coming his crucifixion and the things that would happen, but they wouldn’t understand it. His disciples wouldn’t comprehend what he was saying. And yet would say in any way, and later on, as John will point out, they’ll remember all of these things and they’ll understand, but they didn’t at this point.

Note is also that Jesus is speaking about a judgment, a judgment that would come. And I believe this is specifically referencing the judgment of the Jewish nation, the judgment against Israel for their unfaithfulness. And again, that goes back to those shepherds that were not faithful. Verse 51. Do you suppose that I came to give peace on the earth? I tell you not at all,

but rather division four from now on five in one house will be divided to three against two and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her. Mother-in-law Jesus came to bring peace. But the kind of piece that it bring is brought about when individuals obey God,

that is they hear the truth. They obey the truth. They hold fast to the truth and they don’t depart from the truth. When they do that, they have peace with God, but Jesus did not come to bring peace to those who refuse to obey the truth. And so Jesus said, I did not come to bring peace, but division. He came to bring judgment and the vision against those who would not hear the truth and who would not obey the truth.

So to in congregations today, if the choice is between holding fast to the truth and maintaining the doctrine of Christ and living out what Christ has said, or getting along with a group that wants to change the doctrine, or wants to change the practice of the church, or wants to change the worship of the church, we don’t need unity. We need division.

You say, well, wait a minute. Jesus said we weren’t to divide the church. Paul said that the Christ didn’t want the church divided or correct, but he also doesn’t want an unfaithful church. It’s not enough to have unity. It must be unity based upon obedience to the truth or it’s unity that will never matter in eternity. He goes on to say,

then he also said to the multitudes verse 54, whoever, excuse me, whenever you see a cloud rising out of the West, immediately, you say a shower is coming. And so it is, and when you see the South wind blow, you say there will be hot weather. And there is hypocrites. You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth,

but how is it? You do not discern this time. Jesus looks at the multitude. Who’s regularly pictured as those who, well, they think Jesus is the, is the Messiah. Well, they maybe he’s the prophet. Maybe he’s Alijah. Maybe he’s he’s John, the Baptist, maybe he’s somebody else. And he said, you can look at the sky and understand what the weather is going to be.

And you can’t understand all of this old Testament, scripture that tells you the time of the kingdom is at hand. And that the Messiah is here. Yes. And why verse 57, even of yourselves, do you not judge? What is right? When you go with your adversary to the magistrate and make every effort along the way to settle with him,

lest he drag you to the judge. The judge deliver you to the officer. The officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you shall not depart from there until you have paid. The very last mite. Jesus said there are consequences for not observing the truth. There are consequences for not putting first the kingdom. There are consequences for not being obedient to God and Christ and being ready for his return.

And all of that is used here in an analogy of a person who owes a debt. They will not have not paid. And they’re going to have to pay it by being put in prison until the debt is paid. There were present at that season. Some who told him about the Galileans whose blood pilot had mingled with their sacrifices and Jesus answered and said to them,

do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered such things. Having been told you can’t, you can look at the sky and you can determine the weather, but you can’t understand what’s right in front of you. Some people say, well, didn’t you hear about those? Galileans didn’t you hear what happened to them? That,

that, that these Galileans pilot took their blood and he sprinkled it with their sacrifices and abomination that God, that’s a clear indicator. This is kind of in the subtext here, the implications, this is a clear indicator that these Galileans, who were offering the sacrifices were evil, bad people, otherwise, such a terrible thing would never happen. Had them.

Jesus said, do you suppose that these Galileans were right? Worse, sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered such things. I ain’t tell you. No, but unless you repent. Yeah, you will all likewise perish or those eight keen on whom the tower of Salone fell and killed them. Do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?

I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise as perish Jesus, and it’s time for you to start cleaning your own house. It’s time for you to start getting right in your own heart, in your own life and repeating hinting or yeah. This example, not a tower falling on you, not a Roman ruler coming and killing you and mingling your,

your blood with the sacrifices. That’s not what Jesus said. Coming destruction, judgment, death. That’s what’s coming unless you repent. And we’re reminded that the message of repentance is what John came preaching. He came preaching to Israel. The people of God who the Messiah would be born among them and was among them. He came preaching, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

And Jesus preaches the same, the message, repent or perish. There are, are no other alternatives. We need to examine our hearts and our right minds. We need to examine our lives and figure out are we in need of repentance? Is there something in our lives that we’re ignoring? Is there a motivation that desire for riches, for glory, for possessions,

for, for the things of this earth that we can’t let go? Yeah. He spoke this bearable, sorry, man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he looked or said to the keeper of his vineyard, look for three years, I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and found none.

Cut it down. Why does it use up the ground? Interesting principle here is Jesus fully comprehends and illustrates within his teaching that a plant exists and pulls nutrients from the ground. It, yes, with this example, the fig tree pulls the nutrients from the ground, but produce it. It is nothing. It produces no fruit. It uses up resources,

but has no productive value. So the vineyard owner says, cut it down and get rid of it. But he, the vineyard keeper answered and said, sir, let it alone this year. Also until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit well, but if not after that, you can cut it down. I want to remind us that we’re in the second year of Jesus’ ministry.

And in the second year of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus uses the illustration of one who has taken three years to come find any fruit born by this nation of Israel. And he’s not finding any, that’s not to say he’s not finding an individual and individuals who would be obedient to him, but the nation, the nation was not producing the fruit of the kingdom and the nation was going to be judged.

So notice Jesus said, I didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword. I didn’t come to bring peace, but division, I came to bring fire. He says, and then he says repent or perish. And then he says, if you produce no fruit for my kingdom, I will cut you down. I will destroy you. We need to learn the necessity of bearing fruit.

And that fruit must be righteousness and the producing of righteousness, not only in our own lives, but in the lives of others, hope you all have a good class and have a good worship this morning. And I pray that everything will be well with you until we’re with you. Again, we love you very much. You’re dismissed.<inaudible><inaudible> Good morning and welcome to the Collierville church of Christ.

Sunday morning, worship service. It is so good to see each of you here this morning. We have several visitors with us and especially the Olsen family that came all the way from central Missouri to, I think they have some special interest here, but anyway, it’s good to have them. And the hatchers are with us. They once worshipped here several years ago and quiets back with us again today,

appreciate him. And we appreciate our minister from Holly Springs. Good, good to have you folks here, if you haven’t, we wouldn’t like for you to take a card from the Pew in front of you and fill it out and just leave it on the Pew or drop it in the collection plate or hand it to one of us, just get it,

get it to here so that we have a record of your attendance. And as you came in, if you did not pick up the Lord’s supper on the table, as you walked into the auditorium, this is good time to do it. We’re just going to go through a few administrative announcements. And so go back and pick up the little cup of bread and grape juice,

and we’ll be ready for the Lord separ when it is offered, need to remember our sick Joan sprayer, still very weak at home. Dorothy Wilson is doing better with her heart blood pressure problem that she has. And we have a note here that her blood pressure is, is stabilizing. And she is scheduled the 1st of February, which is Monday to have ultrasounds and blood work to see if her stage three chronic kidney disease has improved since her last hospital stay.

When her count was 43, where it should be around 70. So let’s keep definitely her in our prayers and ed Richardson, which is the Halvorson’s father-in-law is doing about the same. As I understand, Barbara Diller is still at home suffering with the recovery of her shoulder, from a procedure that was done on it. It has to be a mobilized for a period of about two weeks or better.

And she’s still working on that need to remember her Elena sharp as well. And Ken and Frankie Phillips that’s Dale’s the Dale’s friend. They are recovering from COVID. That’s all of the sick that I’m aware of as you came in the auditorium, there’s a basket of names we’ve been working on this for awhile. It’s names of people that previously worshiped here, or have we have some record of them having visted.

If you’d pick up one of those names out of the basket and make contact with that person and just invite them back to the church is what it’s all about. The Potter’s children home up in Kentucky, that we helped support. We’ll be here to pick up the commodities that we assemble the week of February 15th. So if you haven’t been bringing your commodities, this is a good time to get update on that.

The Nesbitt church of Christ congregation is hosting the 22nd standing in the gap lectures Wednesday through Sunday in January 27th through the 31st, there are details on the bulletin board. If you’re interested in attending there. And then I have a card from Francis Redmond that I’m going to read for you. I’ll post the code card back on the bulletin board, but it says to all my brothers and sisters in Christ,

I want to thank you for all the help you have given me. Thank you for all the prayers over all right, stays food calls, cards. Your kindness has been such a blessing to me. May God bless you all Francis Redmond. That’s all the announcements. I have the order of service today. We’re totally blessed to have so much talent in the congregation.

The song leader will be Michael Dale. He’s also a student over to Memphis school of preaching and no else. Noah Olson will be bringing us the message. The opening prayer will be Eric Halvorson. Joe caisson will be officiating on the Lord’s supper and the closing prayer will be Terry Sanderson. Thank you all for your attendance. Our opening song this morning will be number 75.

I seen the power of God, number 75, Seeing my T power of God that<inaudible> that<inaudible><inaudible>. Ah, I see where’s John dad or Dan<inaudible> the moon shines for that is a man. Oh, the stars. Oh, Hey, seeing goodness of the Lord.<inaudible> he form creatures with his word and then<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> ground tread or gaze upon<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and clouds.<inaudible> burst.

Blow by<inaudible> from<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and every where that man can be. God,<inaudible> The song before the opening prayer will be number 797. Lord, we come before the now seven 97 Lord we come before the ah, ah,<inaudible> ah, Oh, dune. Ah.<inaudible> shall we? The Lord in vain. We see the Lord and<inaudible><inaudible> and calm passion.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> to<inaudible> and I know<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> the God<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Please bow with me.

God, our father in heaven, we come to you at this time, thanking you for the opportunity to assemble here this morning, to sing songs, appraised your great name and study another portion of your word Lord. We’d like to thank you for those amongst the members of this congregation that have found and had improvements in their health, because we know that you are in control of everything.

And we thank you for those that have had improvements. But Lord, we also know that there are many amongst us that are suffering from various illnesses and ailments. And we ask that you wrap your loving arms around each and every one of them. Lord, we, especially at this time would ask you that you wrap your loving arms around Shirley Cozort and ease her pain.

If it be your will. And if it be your will restore her to a measure health that she so desires. We also ask that you wrap your loving arms and comfort the entire Cozort family at this time of their need and comfort. Also each and every one of those that are suffering with loved ones that have illnesses. God. Now, as we prepare to study another portion of your word,

we ask that you help each and every one of us assembled here this morning to have open hearts and open minds so that we can understand the message that Noah brings to us this morning, your message, your word, and we can take and apply that to our lives so that we can be better servants to yours while we’re here on this earth. And we want to thank you for your son,

Jesus, because we know that the sacrifice that he and you made for us, make it possible for us to live with you in eternity. One day we pray all this through his name, amen Song to prepare our minds for the Lord’s supper will be number 332. Lead me to Calvary three, three to King of my life. Crown me, ah,

nah, nine shout Kamari bee. Last for good thorn crown bruh. Ah, me too.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> for me, the me too.<inaudible> show me the two<inaudible><inaudible> and, and Joes and robes Ray. Hey God. At the Watts<inaudible> money.<inaudible><inaudible> me, the me too.<inaudible><inaudible> through the glue, calm with a gift to the show to mean,

ah,<inaudible> the me too.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> for me, the me too.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> for the<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> for<inaudible> for again<inaudible> for me, the me too.<inaudible> As we come together this day, we often sometimes take things I think too lightly about our Savior’s death. And as we look back to the time that he was ready to cue and spit upon the time that he was beaten in the time he was led to the cross and hung there on the cross of Calvary to die for us.

And as we think about that, we need to reflect upon what he’s done for us and the hope that we have through him, that by his dying for us, he made us a way of redemption from our sins and be able to turn back to our God and to our savior, to hopefully have that home and having one day, we want to reflect upon that now,

as we protect the Lord’s supper, and as we have sung this beautiful song to remind us that he did die for us, and he’s always there for us and we gain our strength by going to him, that is pray father, I got in heaven. We know that it was a sad time when your precious son had to go to the cross of Calvary.

We know it was by his own wheel that he went and that he suffered and died for us. And as we reflect upon that father, we’re so grateful and so thankful that we are able to be your children and able to receive that blessing. While there we pray that as we partake of this bread, that we might examine ourselves and make sure that we’re taking of it in a manner worthy Jesus,

we pray amen.<inaudible> Oh God, our fathers. We continue to look to the cross where our savior hung there and he shed his precious blood upon that cross. And there’s through that blood that we have the forgiveness of our sins, opposed to always be mindful, that sacrifice that was made for us. And as we go through life that we will let it show in the way that we conduct ourselves before our fellow man,

they do know that we are your children. And then we have redemption through his blood, right? As we protected this fruit of the vine that we might do. So in a way pleasing is it represents that blood of our savior Jesus, we pray. Amen. Well, I had the opportunity to think about us giving back to the Lord and to be able to continue to conduct the work of the church,

to do our benevolent activities and also to help further the kingdom and supporting those that are teaching and preaching. Not only here, but throughout the world, that they too might come to the knowledge of God’s word and want to be a child of, he is let us pray. Father in heaven, we’ve been so blessed in this country and we’ve been blessed beyond what we really need.

And we pray father that we’re being good stewards of those blessings that we have determined in our hearts to give. And as we’ve been prospered that we’re so thankful to be able to give, to help the work of the church here, as well as in other places in the world that we played pray that we would be liberal with our giving and that we are trying to take care of the needs of those that perhaps are having difficulties with different things in their lives and,

and be very benevolent and how, how we tried to help them, bless us in our efforts, continue to strengthen us as the days, go by help us always to do all to the names honor and glory in Jesus. We pray amen. If you’re using the song book and we’d like to Mark the song of invitation is number 945. Number nine,

four five. It will be on the slides though. The song for our lesson will be number 616, the way of the cross. If you’re able to let stand for this song, please, number 616.<inaudible> I must needs go home by the way of the cross. There’s no other way, but it is shown again outside of the Gates, if the way of the cross,

the way of the<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Sneads go on and blah sprinkles were, Hey, Pat, that save<inaudible><inaudible> to the it’s where the<inaudible> at home with. Ah,<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> then I bet to the way to walk<inaudible> for my Lords. And I see my<inaudible> no way of the cross<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> cross<inaudible>. It was a privilege to be able to be with you this morning.

You able to give you a lesson from God’s word again. I want to thank you all for that opportunity. So we want to be praying for the Cozort family continually and hope everything can go. Well, our lesson this morning is very simple. Our lesson is how to get to heaven, how to get to heaven. This question is the most important question that one can never ask.

What must I do to be saved? What must I do to get to heaven? What must I do to be saved from eternal damnation? That’s the question that we’re going to look at this morning, how to get to heaven. I want to say You to turn over to Matthew chapter seven, this is where we’re going to be this morning, Matthew chapter seven.

And we’re going to see what Jesus can teach us about how to get, how the, the path To heaven. You know, there Is a story of a preacher who, who would tell his, his congregation next week, I’m going to preach the best sermon You’ve ever heard. Of course the congregation, right? They’re excited. Next week Comes around.

The preacher gets up to the pulpit. He reads Matthew five. He reads Matthew six and he reads Matthew seven. And he has preached the best sermon that one could ever preach. And who sermon? It’s not the man’s sermon, but it’s Christ’s sermon. Matthew Five through seven often called the sermon on the Mount is The greatest sermon that anyone has ever preached.

That’s Jesus, Jesus himself is the greatest preacher to ever live, But we’re going to look at Jesus as part of his sermon in Matthew seven on a couple of things, what we need to do in order To get to heaven, you know, Chapter seven details what we must do, but Jesus kind of summed it up in John chapter 14, verse number six,

he says The way the truth and the life, we must heed to the words of Jesus. And if we follow these basic teachings that we’re going to look at this morning, we can go to heaven. It’s a blessing to know that we have all things pertaining to life and godliness. We can know that we have eternal life. If we do what?

If we obey his commandments? The question that we must ask ourselves, is this, are we going to Follow the commandments from Christ as Christ did from his father in John chapter 12, notice verse 49, John chapter 12, verse 49 for I’ve not spoken of my Self, but the father which sent me, he gave me a commandment. What I should say and what I should speak.

Jesus himself, obey the father. Are we going to obey the commands of Christ? So let’s get it Nor less than firstly, our first point this morning, if we were going to get to heaven, we have to judge righteously. Let’s go back to Matthew chapter seven and look at it. Verse number one real quick notice Jesus says, judge, not that you may not judge.

How, how often or what context do you hear? People use this verse. You can’t judge me. You can’t Tell me what to do. Even Jesus himself has, Has said that. Looking at this context, Jesus is not condemning judging at all. He’s condemning hypocrisy. He’s condemning sinful judging. There is a difference. So we need to understand that.

But yet you’ve heard people say, stop judging me. Or Jesus says, don’t judge. You. Can’t tell me how My life. That’s not what Jesus is saying here for one year, Christian is commanded to discern right from wrong. Are we not Ephesians chapter five, notice Verse number 11 and have no fellowship With the unfruitful works of darkness. Rather what reprove them,

get them out. Expose them, expose the sin in the camp. We have to, we’re commanded to purge out the 11. Are we not? We need to, to, to purge out sin and we have to practice church discipline. Do we not? When my brother who is a Saint Or living in sin, Jesus gives us the commands. I want to turn to Matthew 18 for a bit.

A moment. Matthew chapter 18. I want you to notice 15 through 17 here on the commands. Here we are commanded To, to push sin out of the way because a little 11, 11, and it’s a whole lump. A little bit of sin can affect many people, but notice Matthew Chapter 18. Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee,

go in, go and tell him his fault between the and him alone. This is a, this is Personal. Notice how, as he continues, if he shall hear that Again, my brother, but if he will not hear the verse 16, then take then take with the one or two more. Then the mouth of two or three witnesses everywhere may be established.

Notice verse 17. And if he shall neglect to hear them tell under the church, but neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican. I thought Jesus said that we weren’t supposed to judge. Now we are, we are commanded to expose sin. And when one who is not going to repent the act of marking him and things such as that come into place.

Now, are we rude to this person? No, we’re not rude. Second desolate Chapter three verse 15 says yet, count him not as an Enemy, but admonish him as a brother when there was someone in the congregation or someone in the church that, that you know who is living in sin and they will not repent. You try to get them back as fast as possible.

Why? Because we don’t know when Christ is going to come. Yes, we are commanded to, to note the difference from wrong and right First Corinthians chapter five and verse number five. I want you to notice that real quick, first Corinthians chapter For five. Notice what Paul says to the Corinthians. First Corinthians chapter five in verse number five. Notice Liver is such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh That notice this why at the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

Jesus. We expose sin. Not because we don’t like the person, not just to get back at the person. We judge to make sure that their soul is saved. That’s why we should judge righteously. But going back to our text in order for us to get to heaven, we have to judge righteously. But what does it mean to judge righteously?

Does that mean to judge off of opinions? No, that’s not what Jesus is saying. Let’s look, look ever. Verse number two as well. For, with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged. And with what measure you meet, it shall be measured to you again. Let’s look At verses three through five, continuing. And why behold is now the moat that is in my brother’s eye.

But consider is not the beam that is not Oh nine or how with outside of my brother, let me pull out the mote out of<inaudible> and behold, a beam is in nine Oh nine thou hypocrite first cast out the out of nine Oh Nine and then shot that clearly see to cast out the mote out of my brother’s eyes. Jesus, Jesus hear,

I love when Jesus uses uses humor. Just imagine this man with this two by four hanging out of his eye and trying to pick out the little tiny speck and his brother’s eye. Jesus said there was no logic to that. We need to make sure that if we were, if we were going to judge righteously in order to get to heaven, what must we first do?

Jesus says, fix yourself. Make sure that you as a Christian are living faithfully. I have no right to tell you to stop lying. If I have the same problem myself, I have no authority to tell you to, to, to live faithfully. If I can not do the same myself, we need to remember to fix our own selves. Notice first Corinthians nine in verse 27,

Paul says the same idea. He says, I keep my body under or excuse me. I keep under my body and bring it this objection. That’s the, by any means. But now I’ve preached to others. I myself should be a Castaway. I need to fix myself first. And then I can go in and judge, the word judge is to call into question to,

to distinguish. That’s what the word judge means to, to, to, to distinguish right from wrong. In this instance, we need to understand, I want you to notice Romans two verses 21 and following as well now, therefore, which teaches another teaches thou not thyself thou that preaches the man should not steal dust out. Steal thou that says to man should not commit adultery,

desktop committed adultery that at abortus aisles does document sacrilege. Now that make us the boast of the law, that through breaking the law dishonors thou God, we need to make sure that our lives as Christians are right before we go out until others, their fault. That’s how we judge righteously. Let’s make sure we are living faithfully before we go and preach and teach to others.

You know, the world is not going to listen. Someone’s not going to listen to a hypocrite. Someone’s not going to listen to them. We need to make sure our lives are and as Christians are right. But if we are going to judge righteously as well, not only must we fix your own selves, but also another requirement is we judge with righteous judgment.

What’s righteous judgment. Well, John chapter seven, verse 24, Jesus says don’t judge, according to the appearance, but judge, with what righteous judgment, what is righteous judgment? It’s not opinion opinion. Doesn’t matter to God, God didn’t. Didn’t ask Adam what? Well, how do you want me to form peeve? You, you choose. He didn’t ask Noah.

He said, you, you choose the wood. Whatever. You know, he, he gave a specific command opinion in most, in some instances does not matter to God. He’s given us some Liberty on some things, but there are specific things that he is required. But notice we ought to, to judge to call into question, according to how Jesus notice John 12,

verse 48, according to the Bible, notice John 12, verse 48. He that rejects me and receive. It’s not my words. Hath one that judges him. The word that I have spoken the same shall judge him in the last day we judge, we call him the question we speak from God’s word. Not my opinion. Not know his opinion,

not, not, not anybody’s opinion. It’s only from God’s word that we have the authority to do that. If I’m going to judge righteously and to get to heaven, I also must understand that my motive it has to be right. My motive is not to get back at the person. My motive is not just to make myself look good. My motive is not just to make everybody against that person.

Now my motive, again, as we stated this, to get that sold, I want you to notice. I love Galatians six and verse number one, Galatians chapter six and verse number one, I love what Paul says here. Notice what he says. Brethren. If a man be overtaken in a fault, you at your spiritual restore trust in one,

such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering myself less than I’ll also be tempted. Why do we go this brother-in-law or brother, why do, why do we go to this brother or sister and tell them their fault so that they can come back. But also, so we are not tempted to the congregation or the church abroad is not falling to sin,

but our motive must be not to, to our motive must be correct. And James chapter five also wants you to notice 1920. Notice what James says, James five, 19 and 20. He says brethren, if any of you do earth from the truth and one convert him, let him know verse 20. He which he would say she converted the sinner from the error of his way,

shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins. That is why, that is why we approach. And that is why we are to judge righteous land, to make sure that sin is out of the camp. And you go back to Aiken. What happened when, when akin sin, who is affected, not just akin whole congregation,

we need to make sure sin is out as soon as so destructive, Romans chapter six, verse 23 wages of sin is what death, spiritual death. And we need to make sure that sin is out of the camp every day. We need to purge that. Let’s go back to Matthew chapter seven. I want you to notice verse number six as well in the,

in the context, you’re still judging. Notice what Jesus says. Give not that, which is Holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine lest. They trample them under their feet and turn again and render you. What is Jesus meaning here? I think sometimes there comes a point in some people lives when, when you bring them to the gospel that they’re too stubborn,

too stubborn to, to, to, to listen. Jesus would say to the apostles in Matthew chapter 10, verse 14, that you just have to shake the dust off your feet and go your way. Because sadly, there are those who will just not repent. Who are, I don’t want to say they’re there. No one is ever too far gone.

But sadly, there were some who hardened their hearts. How much they, according to their will, according to their choices will not repent. Now could they? Yes, but they have to choose that. But we as Christians need to understand that we can not give up just because of one, we have to keep on, keeping on. We have to keep on doing the things that God would have us to do.

Yes. We need to judge righteous sleep. Let me ask you, let’s ask this question. When we judge, when we are calling into question, when we are discerning, as we’ll talk about here in a little bit as well, who should we go to for wisdom? I think we should go to God. Let’s look at verses seven through 11 here.

Notice in Matthew chapter seven, seven through 11, It says ask. And it shall be given you seek and you shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you for every one that asked to receive it. Then he, that seeketh findeth and to him that knock it, that shall be open or what man is there of you whom have his son asks for bread will give him a stone.

Or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to unto your children? How much more shall your father, which isn’t it. Kevin give good things to them to ask him, you know, as we, as Christians should, should note something in every situation we should always go before the father.

Should we not? We should come before the father. And specifically in this instance, when we are judging, when we are discerning, what is our motive? W w we need to ask ourselves, is this true biblical evaluation? Or is this just my opinion? We need to go before the father. And what’s interesting. I love what Jesus says here.

He says, if you, you, you is, is people can give good gifts to your children. Yet. The father Who is the most powerful being in the universe, How much more can he give you? James? One verse 17 tells us that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the father of lights. Isn’t our father.

So awesome and awesome. God. He is. And we need to understand that we should always trust him. Matthew six, verse 33, but seek ye first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness and what all these things shall be added unto you. We love you. We should love what the father has done for us. Be thankful. And when we are In situations,

such as maybe approaching a brother, let’s go to God because we ask what does Jesus say? Verse eight, again, for everyone that asks<inaudible> I hate that. Seek it, find it. Isn’t him knocking the shabby, open James chapter one also. And the verses five Through eight, James would say, if any of you lack wisdom, Let him ask of God.

God has all the answers. And when we pray, how, how does he speak? It’s not going to be some miraculous endowment. No, we haven’t To study. Prairie is never a substitute for study. We need to understand that praying to God helps us a lot. And when you understand that every day, but yes, when we are judging,

when we are coming Up to a brother, maybe that is living in sin, Let’s pray about it as well. But also notice verse 12 of Matthew, chapter seven, therefore, all things whatsoever you would, that men should do to you do even so to them for this is the law and the prophets. What is this often called the golden rule,

right? I like the word to should here, because this means that how they ought to be how they ought to be biblically, how would I want to be judged? How would you want to be judged? According to man’s opinion? According to this brother’s Idea. No, I want to be judged from the Bible, whatever the Bible says. And that’s how we ought to judge.

According to God’s word questions we have to ask, are we binding where the Bible doesn’t bind? Are we losing where the Bible doesn’t lose? We need to ask ourselves when we are judging, when we are going up to a brother in the church, we need to go to them with humility and with God’s word in that alone. Yes. Firstly, if we were going to get to heaven,

we must judge, right? But secondly, if we are going to get to heaven, we must choose right? There is a choice. Let’s look at verses 13 and 14 of Matthew seven, enter you in at the straight gate for wide is the gate. And broad is the way that Leah’s to destruction and many there be which go in their own because Is the gate and narrow is the way which leads on to life.

And few there be that, find it. You know, since then Beginning, there’s always been a choice, right? There’s always been a choice. There’s not some unconditional election. God doesn’t well, I’m a choose you. And I won’t choose. You know, the God has always allowed us to choose. I like Joshua 24. And you know,

you’ve heard verse 15 before notice John Joshua 24 15. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord shoes, notice that word, choose you this day, whom you will serve, whether the gods, Which your father served that were on the other side of the flood Or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But notice what Joshua says.

He says, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. There’s always been a choice. God gives us that choice. That’s up to us. Yeah. We have two choices. There’s there’s not more than that. And you know, our denominational friends like to tell us, well, I’m just taking a different route to heaven.

No, Jesus says that. I’m the way, I’m the truth. And I’m the life. There’s either Christ’s way or there’s the world’s way. And, and there’s not partial obedience. I want you to notice this quote and I love this quote, notice to be almost persuaded as to be almost saved and to be almost saved as be entirely lost. There’s there’s either full for God or full for the world.

There’s not partial obedience with God. But with that choice, as we’ve talked about, we have a choice. You and I, we have the choice that we have. We’re given that there’s two choices. Again, firstly, as Jesus talks about going back to our text, Matthew seven, there’s a wide way. There’s, there’s a, there’s a wide,

the wide path. And this gate is broad and golfs many people, but guess what it is pleasurable, it feels good. First John two and verse 16 says for all those in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, all those things that man loves makes them feel good. That’s that’s this way.

And you, you get to enjoy the pleasures of sin. You get to, you don’t Have to feel bad about anything you do. You get to live for Yourself every day. It’s all about you. I want you to notice something and Hebrews chapter 11, Hebrews chapter 11, I want you to notice what the Hebrew writer says about Moses choosing rather To suffer affliction with the people Of God than to enjoy.

Notice this, the pleasures of sin or seasoned sin. Doesn’t sin only lasts for a season and yes, this way might feel good. You might get to Do what you want to do, live how you want To live yet. Sadly, this one makes this, this way, makes me An enemy of God, James four in verse number four. He adulterers.

And adulteresses no you not that the friendship, The world is what enmity with God and whosoever is going to be a friend of the world is what an enemy of God being an enemy of God’s that’s a scary thing. It’s not, we need to understand that. No, we can’t choose this way. And sadly, many, many seek to enter the other way.

See they want th that the narrow way they want the straight way. Maybe they, they try. I seek it, but something’s holding them back from leaving this wide way. Sadly many will be lost. That’s a sad thing. Is it not this way is not this way. Again, as it was pleasurable, it might be easy. It’s big.

Many people go in. Yeah, sadly it’s eternal destruction. It’s not pleasant revelation 21. And verse number eight tells us that there’s going to be fire and brimstone. This is eternal damnation. This is, this is torments Burning and the fires of hell forever. It’s not going to last a thousand years, 10,000 years. It’s forever. But also this it’s going to be away from the presence of God.

That’s a sad thing. And to think, to replay in your head over and over again, Jesus walking away from you for ever. That’s a sad thing, but Jesus says there is another way. Going back to Matthew chapter seven, what does he say? He also says that there is a narrow way, a straight way. This word narrow is interesting.

When I was Looking at this word narrow, it means difficult. It means suffered. Tribulus. It’s a, it’s a hard way. This, this, this way. It requires endurance. Second Timothy four, six through eight. The title, No, my departure is at hand paraphrase and I fought a good fight. I finished the course. I’ve kept the faith.

What does Paul say? In verse eight henceforth, there is laid it for me. A crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day and not to me only, but to all them that love his appearing this way is the way to go this way. Again, as we stated with Moses, it’s hard. Moses chose rather to suffer affliction with the people Of God and do enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

And this way leads to an everlasting life with God. We should look forward to that. It’s going to be hard. You’re Going to have temptations. You’re going to have trials in your life. Of course, God does not promise perfection just to a perfect life. I will say this. The destination is a beautiful one. I heard a joke, a story choke about,

about the, the, the, the joys of heaven. There was a, an old man and his wife. They, they died and they went to heaven and Peter was, was showing them around heaven, right? And he’s like, he shows them this, this mansion. He says, this is, this is yours. You get this. And they said,

how much, how much do we have to pay for? And Peter says, no, no, that’s yours. It’s in heaven. This is yours. And he shows them a beautiful car. And how much do we have to pay for it? He says, no, it’s yours. They get to the golf course, golf course. And, and the man says how much you have to pay for it.

And Peter’s like, Nope, it’s all free. And the man looks to his wife and he says, why did you feed me those rice cake and vegetables? I could have been eating all this cake and gotten here to heaven sooner, funny thing. And we now understand doesn’t, haven’t going to be beautiful. I think it is no, we’re not going to have any material things,

just a little illustration there, but we need to choose, right. We need to choose the path to heaven. And if we do, man, it’s going to be beautiful. Number three third, let’s go back to our texts this morning. If we’re going to get to heaven for a third point, we have to discern, right? What does it mean to discern,

to discern means to recognize or identify? We did kind of talk about this a little bit. Let’s talk about this as Jesus. Notice Matthew seven, verse 15, but where are false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly, they are ravening wolves. There are going to be those who want to deceive, right? They’re going to be those who want to persuade men to do other things,

to do other things of the world, to go with false doctrine. And yet some are wolves in sheep’s clothing. False prophets are not going to have a sign on their shirt saying false prophet, false prophet with blinking lights. They’re not going to come up to the pulpit and say, hold on, be prepared. I’m a false prophet. I’m about to deceive.

You know, they’re going to come in sheep’s clothing. They’re going to look like the rest yet. They are deceiving us. Notice. Second Corinthians chapter 11, 13 through 15, second Corinthians 11, 13 through 15 for such are false apostles. Deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ and no Marvel for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Notice that therefore it is no great thing. If his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works, even Satan himself comes into seat for ways. And sadly, there might even be those in the church. No, they look good. They might sound good. They might be the best and the outward.

And then the really, what does Jesus say? They’re ravening. What was, but yes, we, as Christians have to discern, we have to make sure that we are checking. You know, this morning has giving you the gospel. I hope that you just don’t take my word for it. Now. I, I’m not purposely teaching. I hope I’m not saying anything falsely.

Or there could be an instance that preachers say something accidentally that I don’t know, therefore each and every one should make sure the scriptures and the preacher that the teacher is saying something right now, we need to discern you acts chapter 17. Verse number 11 tells us that they searched the scriptures daily to what make sure that these things were were so, and we need to understand that,

but yes, we have to be adamant about testing. One another notice going back to our text verses 16 through 20. Notice what Jesus says about fruit. You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of missiles, even so every good tree bring it forth, good fruit, but a corrupt tree. Bring it forth.

Evil fruit, a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit. Neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that brings us not forth. Good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruit roots. You shall know them. We need to not only discern who is teaching or our brethren, we’ll have to discern ourselves.

We have to look at ourselves. Are we living righteously? Philippians two in verse 12 says work out your own salvation. Yes, we, we need to, to watch out for, for others to make sure that their souls are living faithfully as well. We’re responsible for us. We need to make sure of that. Second Corinthians 13 in verse number five,

examine yourself, make sure discern yourselves, make sure that you were living faithfully. As we talked about before, before you go out and tell others, you have to make sure you’re living faithfully as well. And yet, sadly, sometimes I think going back to talking about those who teach falsely thinking that they can hide thinking that they can blend in, Oh,

they might be able to fool you. They might be able to fool me, but they will never, ever, ever full gone their work will be. He brought out, I love numbers, chapter 32 and verse number 23 numbers, 32, 23 notice. But if you will not do so behold, you have sinned against the Lord. Notice this next phrase and be sure your sin will fall.

Sand’s going to be brought to light whether on this earth or whether in judgment, second Corinthians five verse number 10, we’re going to, to what? Up here before everyone is going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Yes, we have to discern. We have to make sure that we know right from wrong. We have to make sure that our lives as Christians are living faithfully.

And to say that that everything is okay. Now we need to discern, as Jesus talks about, you know, first John chapter one in verse number five, John says that this is the message, which we’ve heard in declarance to you. That God is light. Nim is no darkness at all in him is no darkness at all. We need to understand that we have to push out the 11 push out sin every day of our lives.

Bless notice our last point for this morning. If we we’re going to get to heaven, we fourthly and lastly must have to build, right? Let’s go back to our texts. Look at verses 24 Through 27, we’re going to come back to verses 21 through 23 at the end. But let’s look at verses 24 through 27, as Jesus is going to give a kind of analogy or illustration Here.

He says, therefore, whosoever, heareth these sayings of mine and do with them. I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house. And it fell not for, it was founded upon a rock and everyone that hears these sayings of mine and do it.

Them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain is descent and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that. The house and it fell and great was the fall of it. Now, again, we talked about, we have two choices in reality, there’s only two choices,

the world Satan or gone. And so again, you look at these, these, these two people they both heard, right? They both, they both heard, they both built, but one of them didn’t do something. They both faced the storms of life, but one of them did not do the words of who? Of Christ. Yeah. He built his house.

He didn’t have a solid foundation. The outcome was different. Let’s look at the first man, the first person, the first man did what he built his house on Christ. And we, as Christians have to do that every day of loss, every single one of us have to do that. First Corinthians three, look at verse number 11, first Corinthians three and verse number 11.

Notice what Paul says here. He says for other foundation can no man, lay than that is laid, which is what Christ Jesus Christ. That’s where our foundation must be laid. We have to have him as our cornerstone. That’s our foundation. And this man, This man, he didn’t just hear The word. He also did the word James one in verse.

Number two says what we have to be doers of the word, not hearers only. We can’t be only those who hear. We have to do something about it. And yet, sadly those in Psalm and denominations, like to say faith alone, faith alone, go out. I like to use this analogy. When talking about that idea, last Noah,

how he built the Ark by faith alone. I don’t think, I don’t think he’d look at you like what he had to do something. There was a story about one who was golfing with his friend. Of course he was a Christian. And the other was, I believe of a denomination who taught faith alone and they are talking about faith and they got on the green.

And of course the, the faith alone preacher person got up to putt and The Christian was I no, no, no. Hold on, hold on. You. You have to put that in by what? Faith alone. Because faith alone doesn’t require action. Faith alone doesn’t require action. Does it? Doesn’t and the one was like, yeah, you got me there.

The faith plus works equals salvation. Not faith alone. I have to build, I have to do it upon Christ. I want you to notice also something about what this man faced. You know, he still felt face trials, even though his house was built upon the rock, even though it was built upon spiritually Christ, he still faced trials. Notice as we’ve talked about a second,

as we talked about the rains descended verse 25 and the floods came, the winds blew. He might’ve had some scratches. He might’ve even had some, maybe a minor damage on the house, but it never fell. Why? Because it was built on the rock. Second Timothy three verse number 12 year old that should live godly in Christ. Jesus will suffer persecution again.

As we’ve talked about, the way is hard. It’s narrow. It it’s difficult, but we, if we live faithfully, there’s, there’s a requirement we’ll never fall. Now, can we fall away if we choose to? Yes, but if we continue until our lives are over, I forgot is for us, who can, who can stand against us?

We got God on our side. We should be thankful for that. But what about the other man on the sand? He built his house upon the sand and this man, like, like the other Island, unlike the other, he had a faulty foundation. He didn’t build his foundation upon Christ. His foundation was tied to man known as Colossians two and number eight,

but where lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ, that’s where his foundation was. And this man forgot who he was spiritually. He didn’t, he didn’t, he didn’t build his foundation. Right? And, and when the trials of life were upon him, what happened?

He fell. He didn’t have a good foundation. He, he, he was destroyed. You know, pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall. We’re going to be humble enough to do the necessary things, to build right. To make sure that our foundation is correct. Because if our foundation is correct, we can build upon that.

And that basically has a Christian, but yes, if we’re going to get to heaven, we have to build a right. But the question is, what are we going to do as Christians on this earth? And we’re going to judge, right? Are we going to choose the right path? Are we going to discern and build right as Christians? If we cannot do these simple things,

we will not be able to go to heaven. We need to choose the path and keep on that straight and narrow. But the question remains to each and every individual will we make that sacrifice. Galatians two verse number 20. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live yet. Not I, but Christ liveth in me and the life that I now live in.

The flesh. I live by the faith in the son of God, loved me and gave himself for me. We need to live our lives as sacrifices. And perhaps there was one here this morning who has not chosen the, the, the path of heaven. Perhaps you have not started the journey. Maybe, perhaps you hearing the word now, do you believe that Jesus is the son of God?

Do you believe that that he came down to die for you so that you could have eternal life? Would you be willing to repent of your sins? Confess Christ before man, and be baptized for the remission of sins to start that journey? That’s just the start that’s, that’s just the beginning. And then you get to live faithfully forever. If you choose to do so,

and you get to go to heaven, but perhaps you’ve already done. So, and you have not been living as a Christian. You haven’t been judging, right? You haven’t chosen the right path. You haven’t discerned, right? And you have not built and continued there on, would you come back to God before it is? Everlastingly too late. I know I’ve used this analogy many times.

Imagine the, the father waiting every day for you to come home so he can have you a part of his fold. Once again, second Peter three verse nine. The Lord is not Slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness, but notice this as long suffering towards us, not willing to in any should perish, but that all should come back to repentance.

But it’s up to you to make that choice. If anyone is subject, and once you come as we stand and as we see<inaudible> lift up your voice, leave with him<inaudible> and began life<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Jesus. Well, me<inaudible> Neil at the cross<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Jesus. Well meet you there, Neil, at the cross,

give y’all ride<inaudible> to nada, to life. Sparkling cop trust always<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible>. Jesus will meet you.<inaudible> The song. Before our closing prayer will be number 867 to Canaan’s land I’m on my way, eight, six, seven, two Cain and land. I’m on my way where the<inaudible> never jog my dark ass. Nah, well,

turn to day where the<inaudible> never<inaudible> no,<inaudible> no,<inaudible><inaudible> and<inaudible> a Rose and this blew me there. Fuck me where the<inaudible> and<inaudible> where the<inaudible> never ah, no<inaudible> no,<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> never love light beams.<inaudible><inaudible> never de<inaudible><inaudible> no,<inaudible> no,<inaudible><inaudible> I’m on my way to that fan land where there’s<inaudible> where there will be no partying and where there’s<inaudible> never ah,

no,<inaudible> no,<inaudible><inaudible> and<inaudible> Let’s pray. Father who art in heaven. We thank thee for the freedom that we have to come and meet on the first day of the weekend for your children to worship fi and sang the songs of praise. And today we pray that we will always have these freedoms in this country. We always be able to come and,

and gather without fear of home. We pray that you would be with those that have been mentioned today that are sick and unable to be with us. We pray that you would be with the Cozort family and the health of Aaron’s grandmother. We pray that things will go well with her and keep them safe. As they travel back and forth, we pray that you would go with us now and keep us safe.

Do we meet again and crash? And we pray. Amen.

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01-20-2021 – Live Stream – Luke 11:37-12:21

In Bible Classes Videos, Jesus, Live Streams by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

All right. It’s time for us to get started.<inaudible> We will begin. And Matthew chapter 12 with our review of the questions from Sunday, and then we will get into our text for this evening. We’ll blame all the rowdiness and people taking forever to get to their seats on to people who are here causing trouble. I won’t mention their names, but their last name is Richardson.

Yeah. For once it’s not Ava. All right. Let’s, let’s begin with a word of prayer. Our gracious and bountiful father in heaven. We bow before your throne grateful for this day that you’ve granted to us grateful for the life that we have and the opportunity that we have to serve you as we go through this day. And as we go through this night,

in this week, and this year, that is ahead of us, help us to, they li keep our mind on your word, keep our heart focused on obedience to you above everything else, help us to hold onto our faith, help us to speak the word of God and to speak it in sincerity and truth and love, help us to always strive to serve you.

Even when the world and the nation nation around us, doesn’t want to hear what the Bible has to say. We pray that you will forgive us when we sin and fall short of your glory and are willing to repent of those things. We pray that you will be with those of our number who have lost loved ones in recent days and months. Pray for those that are dealing with illness.

We pray for family members and Christians all over the globe that are dealing with COVID. We pray that if it be your will, they will be returned to their help. All this. We pray in Jesus name. Amen<inaudible> Questions from less than two 45. By what means did the Pharisees say Jesus had healed the demon possessed man who was blind, deaf and speechless power of Beelzebub question two.

Jesus said, a person cannot be a for Jesus. Be partially against Jesus or see against Jesus B. Okay. He cannot meet. Jesus said you’re either with me or against me. So you can be either one of those, but you can’t be partially with him or partially against him. What sin did Jesus say would not be forgiven? All right.

Well, ask me the Holy spirit, which by the way, that’s referenced both in Matthew 12 and again, in our text tonight, but given the size of these texts, I don’t feel like we could do justice to a real study of that, but we’re gonna, we’re gonna notice that in a sermon and a few weeks, so I’m just gonna kind of pass over it for now and we’ll look at it.

Then Jesus said that the mouth speaks what is contained by the blank. The heart at the end of our lives will the words we use matter. Yes, they will. Jesus said, we’ll be judged by them. Jesus said some something greater than blank and blank was here and the people didn’t hear it. Solomon and Jonah, Jonah, and Solomon, I guess in the correct order,

how long did Jesus say Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights? How long did he say he would be? That’s supposed to be in, not on in the earth saying, all right, three days and three nights, whom did Jesus say? Where his mother and brothers, those who do the will of his father name,

the new Testament book, rich, which resounds with the theme, the righteous will live by faith.<inaudible> Romans. Romans is what that’s looking for. Now. That was from a drill from another lesson, which you probably, you don’t have the drills or that anyway, but there’s only a few of the new Testament books that use that phrase. Hebrews uses it.

Romans uses it, but the, the answer there is Romans Paul uses it in Romans chapter one, verse 17. Okay. So our text for this evening is going to begin in Luke chapter 11<inaudible> We go through these texts. One of the things that you’re seeing, again, the majority of what we’re dealing with at this point in time in the passages that we’re in is the second year of Jesus’ ministry.

This is in a period of time where Jesus and the scribes, the Pharisees, the lawyers are at points of contention in the earlier first year of Jesus’s ministry. He’s beginning to do miracles. He’s beginning to do signs and wonders. People are beginning to know who he is now. As these things begin to occur, he’s beginning to be followed by the people.

The people come to hear him. Jesus gives the sermon on the Mount and the people are listening. The crowds are attentive. They’re seeing who he is. And they’re recognizing, as we saw at the end of Matthew chapter seven, this man speaks as one having authority and not like the scribes that they were used to. And so, as a result of these things,

you’re beginning to see a power struggle. You’re beginning to see the scribes, the Pharisees, the lawyers, the, the chief priests reaching to hold on to their power. And they’re going to begin making arguments against Jesus. They’re going to begin claiming things as they did in Matthew chapter 12, like Jesus is doing this healing by the power of the above.

And yet they’re not going to be able to withstand what Jesus says. Jesus would say in Matthew chapter five, except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. You shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Now imagine being a scribe or a Pharisee one who considers yourself, not only a righteous person, not only a descendant of Abraham, but a leader of the righteous people in Israel.

I mean, you think about it in Israel, they had thieves, they had murderers. They had fornicators. They had people, but these scribes and these Pharisees, these were the synagogue going every week, study their old Testament scriptures and know the law quote, the law, memorize the law people. And Jesus tells the crowd, unless your righteousness exceeds theirs,

you’ll never step foot in the kingdom of heaven, Which means they won’t Step foot in the kingdom of heaven. That’s the, that’s the gauntlet being thrown down by Jesus. That’s Jesus saying there something fundamentally wrong with these people. It’s not just an issue of a matter of doctrine here, or a matter of doctrine there, or a teaching here, or a tradition there,

or, or, or, or a problem. There’s a fundamental foundational problem with these people. And yet they were the ones that were looked upon as being Righteous. All right. So when we get into Luke chapter 11, we begin with a series of woes against the Pharisees and the lawyers. Now, what was the lawyer’s job or responsibility in that day in time?

Are we talking about somebody who goes before a judge or some other kind of Okay. Interpreters of law, they were the teachers of the law in that sense. Okay. So chapter 11, we’re going to begin in verse 37 and go through chapter 12, verse 21. And as he spoke, Jesus, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him.

So he went in and sat down to eat. When the Pharisees saw it, he marveled that he did not forget that he had not first washed before dinner. Now, As we get into this text, first question is the washing here. One that is pertaining to cleanliness, I E germs and dirt. All right. It is not, it is a ceremonial washing.

Okay? If you go back to the traditions, you go back to the day, time, you go back to the history around this and the, and other passages dealing with similar things. This was not, you know what? I came in, I’ve been walking and I’m going to make sure that my feet get washed because they’re dirty. I would make sure my hands get washed because they’re filthy.

Before I sit down to eat, that’s not what this was. This was a tradition of the scribes, the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, the elders, that when you came in from a marketplace, from a public place, you washed ceremonially to cleanse yourself of being around Gentiles. Okay? And so they question, why is it that he or he seeing this?

And he marvels Jesus has just come in from being around all these people and, and being around Gentiles. And he’s not, he’s not Washing. Then the Lord said to him, now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and the dish clean. But your inward part is full of greed And wickedness Jesus. Knowing What this person has in his heart,

knowing what this Pharisee is thinking responds to him and says, you’ve washed the outside of the cup. And The inward part of the cup, you’ve left A few times. And my life, I have Put something somewhere that had food in It And then forgotten it was there. And when you come back later, Usually there, you know, when you,

You come back three or four or five days Later, mold, it’s corrupted. No don’t eat any of that. It’s not instant penicillin. You know, wash it, clean it, or throw it away. What, what have you, but don’t eat It. Now. The picture Jesus is painting is here comes a Pharisee and they come along and they look at that dish.

That’s got moldy, crusted, infested, maybe even a creature, an insect ridden food. And they go outside of the dishes Is filthy. Let’s wash it. They wash the outside of the dish And not the inside. They’ve cleansed. Only the part that people look at and nothing about the part that really matters. And so Jesus said, foolish ones,

verse 40 did not. He who made the outside, make the inside. Also Jesus said, you’re willing to wash your, your outward person. You’re willing to cleanse the outward body. But what about your inward man? Didn’t the same one who made your body also make your soul, your heart, your mind, your motivations. He goes on to say,

but rather give kinds of such things as you have. And then indeed all things are clean to you, but woe to you. So this is the first there’s going to be six woes, woe to you, Pharisees for you, tithe mint and Rue and all manner of herbs and pass by justice. And the love of God. First of all, what is a mint Ru or other herbs?

What are they by, by their very nature? Add flavor. But I mean, are these like the big crops? No. What are they? They’re the little ones. All right. They’re the, they’re the smallest of things. Okay. If your life, if your livelihood was farming, the likelihood is that the, the mint and the root or the,

those weren’t the ones you made your primary living off of. But the old Testament commandment, the old Testament law was that attends all of everything. When harvest time came, that was the time in which you took a 10th of everything and gave it to God. And that portion was the sustenance for the lean bites. And so here they are, they have a commandment about tithing and here they are,

and they’re tithing these small herbs. And Jesus says, you make sure and you sit there and you’re concerning yourself with the 10th being given of these small things. And yet you overlook The weightier matters, but he mentions two things specifically here. Love of God and justice. Here you are. You’re counting out the herbs, but you won’t give a person justice.

Now, You all, okay, well, let’s, let’s think Jesus doesn’t really provide us an example. How about this one? A man comes and finds an individual who cannot speak, who cannot hear and whose demon possessed and cast the demon out and heals the man and the Pharisees say he did it by the power of BLS above. Now is that justice,

Because if he’s doing it by the power of Beelzebub, what is he considered under the law? Under law, Moses, he would be considered, he would be considered one. Who’s utilizing the power of Satan or one like a witch or one like, like a false prophet and condemn livable by death. So They have seen someone use the power of God to heal a person.

And they said that man is worthy of death. Now is that justice? No. He said, not only have you foregone, overseen overlook justice, but you have overlooked the love of God. Now, one thing we must not do is we must not Take this To the opposite extreme and go. We need to be concerned about justice and the love of God.

And we don’t need to be concerned about any of that law, that rule, keeping law, keeping stuff. We don’t need to be concerned about the little details of the commandments of God. Just ignore that. We need to be concerned about the big stuff. No, no, no. That is not what Jesus says. Notice what he says. He says woe to you for you,

tithe mint and Rue and all manner of herbs and pass by justice. And the love of God. These you ought to have done Without leaving the others undone. You see the mindset of the Pharisee was because I do these deeds I’m righteous. And yet they had literally, as it were ripped the heart out of scripture, It ripped the love of God and justice and mercy and kindness right out of scripture.

And they weren’t doing that. They weren’t doing the spiritual matters. They were Doing the earthly matters, but Jesus said, You need to be worried about the weightier matters of the law without neglect, Ding, the other matters, the matters of keeping God’s commandments. So yeah, You know, someone might say, well, we need to be worried about loving God,

not be worried about the acts of worship or how a person’s saved or whether or not they worship on a regular basis or whether, you know, whether or not they stay their Bible or whether or not they, they, you know, cuss every once in a while, whether we don’t need to be worried about all that little stuff we need to be worried about.

Do that. Love God. No, that’s not what Jesus is saying. And if we take this passage to say that we have done the exact opposite Of what Jesus is saying, Jesus is saying, you keep God’s commandments, but you first Do it exactly the way God said. And what did God actually say? Thou shall love the Lord. Thy God,

with all thy heart, all my soul, all vies strengthen all by might. So they were to both keep the small matters of the law and the weightier matters of the law, but he goes on. And if I take this long, we’re never going to get done. All right. So woe to you, Pharisees verse 43 for you love the best sheets.

God’s in the greetings, in the marketplaces, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for you are like graves, which are not seen. And the men who walk over them are not aware of them. Let’s see mean, typically speaking, how do we treat grave sites As being sacred? As we show honor, we teach our children not to go skipping on the stones.

You know, not to go running through the graveyard, not to kick, kick over the two, you know, with honor. But what is a grave site where you don’t know anybody’s buried there. It’s not marked, It’s still a grave site, but it’s nothing special. All right, it has no visual recognition. Therefore, no honor is shown to it.

He says, woe to you for you are like graves, which are not seen. And the man who walk over them are not aware of them. What about the other side? The other side of this is a grave site what’s inside. What’s inside is decay was inside. Is that, which is the filed. According to law with you touched a dead body.

You were unclean what’s inside the grave though. The outside has given honor. The inside is unclean. Jesus said you are unclean, but people don’t realize it as they go by you on the inside are decayed and defiled and corrupted, but you don’t look that way on the outside. And so this is a warning to the people. Then one of the lawyers answered and said to him,

teacher, by saying these things, you reproach us. Also, you might be saying Pharisee over and over again, but you know, you, you shooting with a shotgun and it scattering a little bit. Okay? We’re over here on the edge is we’re getting hit. He goes on to say, Whoa, to you also lawyers, if you would like to get Jesus’s attention and draw his AME on you just do what the lawyer did.

So he gets his own fair share. Whoa, do you also lawyers for you load men with burdens, hard to bear and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Here are these men whose responsibility it is to interpret the law. And he says, Here you are, you’re taking the law and you interpret it for someone else.

Someone comes to comes to you. They come to you and they ask, this is what the law says. This is what Moses wrote. What does it mean for me? Can you interpret this for me? Help me understand how I apply this. And they’ll expound it to him and make sure that every aspect of the law is the full weight of the laws put on this individual.

Who’s asked him about interpreting the law and then they’ll turn around and they won’t do the same Themselves. They will put Heavy burdens to be born on those who asked them, what does the law mean? But they won’t lift those birds Themselves. So then he says, Whoa to you for you build the tombs of the prophets and your fathers Killed them. In fact,

You bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers for, they indeed killed them and you build their tombs. This is an interesting analogy. Jesus said your fathers, all right. So we’re going back into old Testament history here. He’s drawing in the prophets. He’s drawing in the Israelites of the old Testament. He said, your fathers Build the profits.

And yet you build them up liquors. If you go to or have had the occasion to go Some capitals, most, most capitals, but especially if you’ve gone to Washington DC, you will stride your way through the capital area and that part of Washington and all over the place, you’ll see a monument to this and a monument to that. And there,

there, I love going there. I love seeing those things, seeing the history of our country, but they’re monuments to honor people, Right? Well, here’s The lawyers. And they would build the monuments to honor the profits. They would literally erect sculptures and structures to honor the profits of old Zechariah and, and Jonah. And, and they would praise these men.

But Jesus says, it’s your fathers who killed them. And then he turns around and says, yeah, But you’re just like your fathers. And as a matter of fact, your fathers killed them and Where you buried him. But notice what he says. He says, therefore, the wisdom of God also said, I will send them prophets and apostles.

And some of them, they will kill and persecute that the blood of all the profits, which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation from the blood of Abel, to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation. Jesus draws forward.

Not only the fact that they would do what their fathers did now. They didn’t know it yet. They didn’t know that they were going to cry out, crucify him, crucify him and put the very son of God on the cross, but they would. And then they do the same thing to his apostles and to his disciples. And they would take the profits of God.

Those who’d been given the gifts of the Holy spirit by Jesus and by the laying on of the apostles hands, they’d take them and they’re going to kill them. He says, you’re doing, you’re going to do the same thing your fathers did. And yet you are the one who are erecting these structures to honor the prophets. But he said, all Of this has happened because what God said in the old Testament is going to come upon this generation.

Now Jesus will make this same basic statement over in Matthew, chapter 24. When John chapter 23, as he gives the woes to the Pharisees, they’re in the last week of his ministry, he will, This city is going to come down. All of these things, Jesus is saying to point out, they’re hypocrites. They’re not living what they teach.

Then he says, verse 52, Whoa, to you, lawyers for you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves. And those who were entering in you hindered. So this third woe that he gives to the lawyers. He said, you, the ones who were supposed to interpret the law, the ones who were supposed to be teachers of the law,

you actually withhold the law. You actually withhold the instruction. You teach in such a way so that you remain in power. You teach in such a way so that people have to keep coming back to you. But then when someone begins to Excel, when someone begins to become knowledgeable, but they’re not from among you, you actually hold them back. You actually pull them down.

You keep them from knowing what God would have them to do and obeying it. As he said, these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to a sale. Him, the humanly, and to cross examine him about many things, lying in, wait for him and seeking the, catch him in something. He might say that they might accuse him.

They’ve Had enough. They’re not, They’re not going to be spoken to this way. They’re, they’re gonna launch a defensive attack. They’re going to try and defend themselves and they’re not going to succeed. But they’re also going to look now for opportunities to catch him in some sort of misdeed. They’re going to look for opportunities for him to disagree with Moses,

try and put these situations. And this will continue all the way up until the week of his betrayal. Chapter 12, verse one. In the meantime, when an innumerable, multitude of people had gathered together so that they trampled one another. He began to say to his disciples, first of all, bilayer of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Why do you think Luke begins with When an innumerable number of people gathered together so much that they’re trampling one another. Why do you think Luke inserts that One? Is it in all of the previous woes that Jesus has just given that Jesus is really getting to at the heart of the issue with the Pharisees and with the lawyers what’s behind it. Y’all say what prophecy,

but what sin Hypocrisy. Okay. Sorry. I thought you were saying prophecy hypocrisy, which is an indicator of Pride. And self-interest, let’s think about it this way for someone who’s humble. Okay. And recognizes their own faults and is honest with others. Are they motivated to be a hypocrite? I I’m not saying, are they ever attempted, I’m saying,

are those actions, those, those mindsets that, that ag attitude of heart, is that a motivator for hypocrisy? No honesty, Mercy. Lowliness humility. Love of God. More than love of Self Is your defense against hypocrisy. But what happens when popularity, It comes to most people in life, all of a sudden lay it very Easy to make all about me.

All about self. Look at all these people. Can you imagine here’s a, let’s just pick out a few. Here’s four fishermen whose daily task it is to go out, catch fish, gather fish in a net, pull them or clean them and sell them in a market. I don’t know how much you know about fish. Few people here know a little bit about fish when you’re all done with that process.

How’s the smell. Good fishing. Yeah. All right. You think You got multitudes gathered around to hear what you have. You, you, You, you are a, you are a cog in the machinery of the marketplace and the world of food. You have no influence insignificance. And now those four men look out at a multitude that is so large coming to hear their teacher,

That these people are trampling. One another to get closer to Jesus and Jesus ELLs, not the crowds. The disciples beware of the leaven of The Pharisees, which is hypocrisy for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed nor hidden. Then that will not being known. Therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light. And what you have spoken in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the house,

stops Jesus, warns. His disciples. Don’t think that you’re going to become those type of people. Like the scribes, the Pharisees and Sadducees are who they say one thing in. And they say something else in public, not my disciples. You bill ware of the temptation to do that. Because being popular is a motivator is a tempter to do that,

to say one thing to the crowd, because it’s what the crowd wants to hear when you don’t believe it, when you don’t actually think it’s true, when you certainly don’t live by it, but it makes You stay popular. Then he goes To say, and I say to you, my friends do not be afraid of those who kill the body. And after that have no more that they can do a interesting point about crowds is they’re great when they’re for you and there’s crucifixions,

they’re against you. But Jesus said at the same time, you neither play into a crowd to appease them, nor do Do you fear the crowd instead of hearing God, He goes on to say, my friends do not be afraid of those who kill the body. And after that have no more than they can do, but I will show you whom you should fear.

Fear him, who after he is killed, has power to cast into hell. Yes. I say fear him. Who is that? God Christ. Okay. He says, and excuse me, verse, verse six are not five sparrows sold for two copper Coins. What, what what’s that in, in Jewish terms? I mean, is that a significant amount Of money?

No, it’s, It’s an inconsequential amount of money. This is just a very low, low price transaction here. He says they’re not five sparrows sold for two copper coins. And not one of them is for gotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear there for are. You have more value than many.

Jesus said, God cares For even the least cared for creatures. God knows and is aware of every one. God Knows how many hairs are on your head. Now that’s fewer for Terry than it is for some, but he still knows. So if God is that, Which by the way, it’s interesting to me how anybody could be a deist and read some of these things.

Passages, believe that God is just a God. Who’s kind of spun up the world and it’s hands off. Does that make any sense with what Jesus is saying Here? No. Jesus is saying you have someone on your side who cares for you because you’re of so much more value than the sparrows. And he cares for the sparrows. He then says,

also, I say to you, verse eight, whoever Confesses me before men, him, the son of man will also confess before the angels of God. But he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God and anyone who speaks a word against the son of man, he will be forgiven him. But to him who blasts, Femes against the Holy spirit.

It will not be forgiven. Now when they bring you, by the way, it’s interesting. He doesn’t say it Does he Here or this past, you could say, and now if they bring you to the magistrates, if they haul you before the courts, he doesn’t say, he says, when, okay, when they bring you to the synagogues and the magistrates and authorities do not worry about how or what you should answer or what you should say for the Holy spirit will teach you in that very hour.

What you ought to say. Now I’m going to speak for myself as a teacher and as a preacher. And I’ll let Eric speak for his own self and Noah and Michael speak for the mom’s house. But I wish this was still true. I wish if I were pulled in, in court or in front of a judge or something else for pre to the gospel,

that the Holy spirit would immediately give me what I needed to say, but that this promise wasn’t made to us. Was it okay? This has made to the disciples. W who was he speaking to? By the way, way back there in verse One, the disciples. Okay. We need to be careful when we go into a context, not to just assume that,

because this is being said, therefore it applies to me. This isn’t a promise made to me. This is a promise made to his apostles who would have the gift of the Holy spirit. Jesus said, I’m sending a comforter who will guide you into all truth and teach you what you are to say, okay, this isn’t a problem For us. But then he said,

Or excuse me, then verse 13, we read. Then one of the crowns shed to him, teacher, my brother, or excuse me, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me as someone who has brothers, I can relate to this. Occasionally it was a requested that mom or dad tell one of the brothers to split that piece of cake evenly.

Okay? Because they had cut half for me and half for them. And their half looked like all of it. And my half looked like nothing. And so, you know, Hey, get, get, get a third party involved here. There needs to be some regulation on what half is This man Comes to Jesus though. And I think sometimes we miss what’s going on here.

He comes to Jesus and he says, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me Under this day in time. Typically speaking, which son received a double portion, the eldest son, The indication seems to be that This son Doesn’t want the eldest son to have the double portion. He wants a Down the middle split notice Jesus’s response. He said to him,

man, who made me a judge or an arbiter over you. And he said, take heed and beware of covetousness for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of things. He possesses. Then he spoke a parable to them saying the ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself saying, what shall I do since I have no room to store my crops?

So he said, I will do this. I will pull down my barns and build greater. And there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul soul, you have many goods laid up for many years, take your ease, eat, drink, and be Merry. But God said to him, fool, this night,

your soul will be required of you. Then whose will those things be? Which you have provided. So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich Toward God now? Yeah. In this context, I’d love to actually go a little bit further. We won’t for the sake of time, but this principle that’s been driven around and, and driven into over and over and over again in this passage,

in the previous one over and over and over and even back into the sermon on the Mount is this, This Jesus said, you better prepare for heaven and serving God and not just prepare for here and yourself. This man Wants Jesus to become a judge and arbiter between him and his brother. And Jesus tells this man, you Have a heart problem and You better be careful because in your striving for possession,

Since you can lose everything and we too need to be careful Because that’s the same thing, Pharisees and the lawyers and the Sadducees and the scribes and the chief priests did out of self-interest. They put the son of God on a cross. We need to be careful about selfishness and pride and a desire for this life instead of the next, okay. That’s In our class for this evening.

We’ll go over the questions Sunday morning For lesson two 46. Thank you for your attention. Welcome to our devotional period of our Sunday, our correction, our Wednesday evening Bible study. It’s good to see so many people here. I think this is a record Wednesday attendance since the COVID started almost a year ago now, but so good to see so many of you out.

I have a very few announcements and I want to welcome our guest here tonight. It’s so good to have Eric and Holly back the Richardson’s. I understand everything is going well back up in North Missouri. And it’s also good to have Clyde green here with us. Clyde used to worship here occasionally years ago, and sure, good to see our, some of our old acquaintance acquaintances back.

We need to remember our sick, keep Joan Springer in your prayers. She still suffers from migraine headaches and is desperately in need of gaining some weight. Dorothy Wilson, still struggling with her blood pressure problems. Ed Richardson, that’s Cheryl’s dad. He still has his own boring problems. Barbara Diller had had a procedure done on her rotator cuff. And I think she probably has a little bit of time yet with the immobilization of that Elaina sharp Shelly Stack’s mother is still,

I think she’s in very serious condition. I don’t know where they put her on hospice care or not, but they were considering that at one time, does anyone know? Okay. Okay. Last Sunday, she was announced that and Ken Phillips is suffering from COVID that’s Michael’s friend, and he has a series of what his wife has it as well. And he’s still suffering for the pulmonary emboli that they got up and got his blood clots taken care of.

Well, great. These are the people we need to keep in our prayers. And remember Francis Redmond with the loss of her daughter Sonder Sandra, she is doing well. I think considering the severity of what happened, Eric gave me a piece of paper at the last business meeting. We had opted Dubai, a defibrillator to keep here in the building and the little sheet of paper he is passed out.

It looks like this half sheet, but it has the internet address for the training that we need to receive to use that it’s about 38 minutes long. And if you would get a copy of that, those of you that would be interested in knowing how to use it, we all should. And at least we can kind of, if we have a need for it,

we can kind of help one another. Get through that. So pick up one of these little sheets of paper and listen to that training video. And this is not only for our own number, but with the voting being here. Oftentimes I think that is a very, very appropriate thing to have on site. Anyway, that’s all the announcements I have.

Erin Cozort will be our song leader and our devotional will be North Olson and our closing prayer. Marie sprinter. Thank you for your attendance. Just a minute. I had my finger where the invitation, so I was just it. So Give me just a second. Invitation song will be number 807 37, 837. I need the every hour Song before the,

or the song before the devotional will be number 346, 346. He lives seeing the first and last person. I serve a risen savior. He’s in the world today. Eh, I know that he is of a man may say I see his hand. He, I hear his voice up to you. And just the time I need him, he’s always<inaudible> he<inaudible> Christ Jesus lives,

dude. Eh, he walks with me and talks with me a long, nice NA roll away.<inaudible> you asked me how I know he<inaudible> rejoin rejoin. So Chris, John, lift up your voice and see<inaudible> to Jesus Christ, the King, the hope of all who seek him a help of all who’ve none. There is so loving, so good.<inaudible> he lives,

he lives grace, Jesus lives, dude. Hey, he walks with me and talks with me. Oh, long lives. NA roll away.<inaudible> you asked me<inaudible><inaudible> Good evening. It was a privilege to Be able to give you a portion of God’s word. I want you to think about the worst thing that someone could say to you, not in a cursing way,

but perhaps that is someone has died. A spouse, a child, a close family member, or perhaps it’s yourself. Perhaps the no status words that you could hear were I have a terminal illness that I’m not going to be able to live long on this earth. I guarantee you that that is not the most detrimental thing, the most saddest words that one will ever hear.

But those are in fact, those are found in Matthew chapter seven in verse number 23. I hope that you will never hear this, but yet sadly many will. I want to start at verse 21, but Matthew chapter seven 21 through 23, not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he didn’t do it.

The will of my father, which is in heaven, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in nine name in the name of cast out devils, and then the name done many wonderful works. And then will I profess into them? I noticed this for words. I never knew you. I never knew you depart from me that work inequity.

These are the most saddest words that one could ever hear to look at Jesus. And to see him turn away, not just for a year, not just for a little amount of time, but for forever and your soul being lost forever in the fires of hell to be away from God, to burn forever in torment, we need to understand and make sure that our lives as Christians,

our faith one to God, and we need to make sure that we are prepared. I want to give you an analogy in Matthew chapter 25, where the parable of the virgins. I want to us to look at this just for a bit, a moment notice verse one, then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto 10 virgins, which took their lamps and went forward for us to meet the bridegroom notice.

Verse three, they, that were foolish, took their lamps and took no oil with them. Notice verses five through eight, while the bridegroom Terri, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made behold the bridegroom cometh go, you out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps notice this and the foolish set into the wise,

give us of your oil for our land or gone out. And then notice finally 10 through 13. Yeah. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came and they, that were ready, went in with him to the marriage. And the door was shut. Afterward came also the other Virgin saying Lord Lord into us. But he answered and said barely Iceland to you notice again,

I know you not watch therefore for, you know, neither the day, nor the hour in the son of man cometh, of course, this is an analogy to, to help us understand judgment day. Jesus has not come yet. We are waiting. Are we going to be like, who are foolish or not preparing to, to meet our God?

I love the song. Careless. Olivia. It’s such a sad song at the same time, careless soul. Why will you linger wondering from the fold of God here you not the invitation or prepare to meet thy God and the song continues with the chorus. Oh, careless. So heed the warning for your life. Wilson be gone. Oh, how sad to face the judgment unprepared to meet the high.

God is such a sad statement. And we as Christians need to be ready to make sure that we are prepared and that the door will not be shut on us. And perhaps there is one here tonight who has never obeyed the gospel. Perhaps you hearing the word now, are you willing to believe that Jesus is the son of God by doing so you must be willing to,

to repent of your sins, confess Christ before man, and then be willing to submit to baptism for the remission of sins. And you can be added to the church, the body of Christ and continue to walk or start your walk as a Christian. But perhaps you’re here tonight and you’ve already obeyed the gospel, but you have not been, been doing the things that God would have you to do.

You’ve strayed from the faith. You haven’t been living faithfully as a Christian. I like to imagine. And Luke chapter 15 with the prodigal son who went away, I like to imagine the father every day waiting for his son to come home with open arms. And when he sees his son, he runs out to me. And I imagine that w with us,

with God, he’s waiting for us to return. We just have to take the step to repent. If anyone is subject, why don’t you come as we stand? And as we see<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> I<inaudible><inaudible> when I<inaudible><inaudible> to the<inaudible>. So the<inaudible> I<inaudible> Would you bow with me please? Our God and our father in heaven.

We’re thankful for Jesus Christ, his suffering on the cross of calorie father. We thankful that through his suffering, through him, shedding his blood for us, our sins can be blotted out from before that sight. And we can sit together with he in heavenly places with fellowship, with God fell asleep with G father and fellowship with Jesus fellowship. With those of light precious faith,

ask it, you would be with those that are sick father night and pray that you would touch them with your healing hand and store them to their health. We asked that you would read the world of this pen, debunk. That is a bonus it’s taken so many lives, be with their families and, and be comfortable conference them father. They give us the virus,

sins, these things we asked in Christ name, and he meant.

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Do Wives Really Have to Submit? – Admonition 332

In Admonition Podcast by Web Administrator

And now admonition. 

There’s a question in our society here in America, that’s not a very favorable question. In Ephesians chapter five, you could ask the question, Do wives really have to submit to their husbands? Well, the answer’s yes. Ephesians chapter five, verse 22 says wives submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. 

Paul says, when you submit, submit to your husband as if he is Christ, because that husband is then supposed to submit to Christ and live in a way that’s right. For more from the Collierville church of Christ visit Collierville coc.org. 

This is E T B N. Let the truth be told.

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A Reason to Rejoice

In Admonition, Podcasts by Aaron Cozort

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:18-19

Description:

And now, Admonition.

Paul calls upon us as Christians to be filled with the Spirit. And when we are, he says, one thing that you might find yourself doing is Ephesians chapter five verse 19, speaking to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

When you can rejoice because you know, God is in you. You can be truly glad. For more from the Collierville church of Christ. Visit Collierville coc.org.

This is E T B N. Let the truth be told.


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This video is a production of Collierville Christian Radio, the Collierville church of Christ, and the Gospel Broadcasting Network.

Aaron Cozort is the preacher for the Collierville church of Christ.

The Collierville church of Christ meets on Sundays morning and afternoon at 575 Shelton Road, Collierville, TN 38017.
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A Reason to Rejoice – Admonition 331

In Admonition Podcast by Web Administrator

And now, Admonition.

 Paul calls upon us as Christians to be filled with the Spirit. And when we are, he says, one thing that you might find yourself doing is Ephesians chapter five verse 19, speaking to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. 

When you can rejoice because you know, God is in you. You can be truly glad. For more from the Collierville church of Christ. Visit Collierville coc.org. 

This is E T B N. Let the truth be told.

01-17-2021 – Live Stream Worship Sermon

In Live Streams, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

Going to be beginning in verse 22, going through the end of the chapter. Again, the material pulling out different things from Jesus’s second year of ministry. And so there are some sections where we’re going to get part of a chapter instead of a whole chapter. And so that’s, that’s the reason why we’re here. Let’s begin with word prayer, Our gracious father in heaven.

We bow before you grateful for the day. You’ve blessed us with, for the opportunities that we have to serve you, to praise your name, to glorify you. And to honor you in all of the ways that you have given us the ability to do, we are so incredibly grateful for the mercy that you give to us each and every day, to allow us to see another day,

to allow us to arise and have the health, to be able to assemble together and serve you, to be able to worship and study your word. We pray that you be with our country and the upcoming days, may there be peace and may those who lead this country make decisions which lead toward peace instead of uprising, pray that you will help us to always strive to live peaceably with all men,

as much as lies within us and help us to always yet stand fast for the faith. Never wavering, always speaking the truth in love. We pray that you forgive us when we sin and fall short of your glory, help us to have a heart that is ready and mindful to repent. When we know we’ve done wrong, but we also ask for forgiveness of those things that we do wrong,

that we may not realize we have done pray that you be with us. As we go through this period of study, may all that we say and do be in accordance with your will. We pray for those in this congregation. Who’ve lost loved ones in recent days, and we pray that you will be with them and comfort them and help them through the difficulties that will come their way in these days.

And weeks ahead, we pray that you will help us to be a strength and a comfort to all those who are struggling and pray that they will seek strength and comfort through your word and through the faith that is in Jesus Christ. All this, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Matthew chapter 1222 Begins. Then one who was brought to him who was demon possessed,

blind, and mute. And he healed him so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. This was a lease by way of scriptural record. A rather rare recurrence. There would be times where a blind person would be brought to Jesus or would encounter Jesus. And Jesus would heal his sight. There would be times where a person who was mute would encounter Jesus and Jesus would cause them to be able to speak again.

There would be times when someone was deaf or lame or some other individual problem, and Jesus would fix that. But rarely would you have so many different situations, all compounded in the same individual. And yet what you see here is the primary problem back of all of it was his demon possession. Okay? The fact that he was possessed by a demon is seeming to be part of the,

the bigger problem at large, that was causing his other problems. So either way, you’ve got Jesus dealing with three separate issues. This man’s demon possessed. This man’s blind. This man cannot speak. And so Jesus heals him. Now. There’s not some great long record. There’s not some long oratory or fanciful actions that occur. Jesus just heals him.

And the man can see, and the man can speak all the multitudes. Verse 23 were amazed and said, could this be, and what did they say? What did they call him? The son of David. Now, do they mean by that? Oh, look, this, this person’s from the tribe of Judah and happens to be from the lineage of David.

Like they’d been missing anybody from the lineage of David all this time. No. So what do they mean?<inaudible> Gay man of God. Great leader. What was David King? Does Israel have a King at this point in time from among Israel? No, they don’t. Herod is the one who’s been set up by the Roman government, but he’s not actually a Jew.

He’s a Herodians. And so he’s from a completely different lineage. He’s not from the tribe of Judah. He’s not from David. And so they save this. This is not, Oh, look, this guy must be from the tribe of Judah because he’s done this great miracle. No, this is, is this. The Messiah is this man, the son of David,

the one who would reign on the throne of David, the one who would deliver Israel, the savior of Israel. That’s what this statement is. Okay. So notice first and foremost, you have the unparalleled situation by way of other times, other diseases, other things that Jesus has has, has healed, then you have the kind of the unparalleled reaction.

Wait a minute, is this the Messiah? But then notice what occurs. Now, when the Pharisees heard it, they said this fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons, the Pharisees knee-jerk reaction to hearing the people question is this, the Messiah is this, the son of David, is this the King we’ve been waiting for,

was not to deal with the question. Honestly, it was not to look at the facts. It was not to examine the potential of that being true. It was to do what Lie Their knee-jerk reaction is to lie. There’s A reality that we face that when we’ve given a lot, a great deal of time and fought and energy to speak carefully and wisely and thoughtfully,

we may speak in a way that is better than our natural reaction. I mean, let’s hope so. W when you’re, when you’re calm and patient and thoughtful, and you’re not in, you’re not in the moment, you may find a better way to phrase things or a better thing to say than when you’re just reacting. But when you’re just reacting,

if we all are just a little bit harshly, honest with ourselves, you tend to be just a bit more honest to what you really think and feel. And this is the Pharisees reacting. This is them being honest to how they truly feel about Jesus. That is, they hate him so much. They will claim. He came from Satan to avoid admitting what they know to be true.

And so their gut reaction, their immediate reaction to the people is no, no, no. This man heals this man cast out demons by the power of Satan. This man cast out demons by the power of Satan. Now, wait a minute.<inaudible> One of the other things that you get when you have kind of that just knee jerk reaction, and you spout something off in the moment is you might not quite have thought through all the implications of your argument.

And that’s what Jesus is going to attack. Jesus is going to attack the premise under their argument, their argument being the only reason he can take the person’s demon away. And we can’t is he’s using the power of Satan and we wouldn’t. Okay. That’s, that’s really, what’s behind this whole thing is they’re trying to lower Jesus. They’re trying to say he’s doing this by the power of Satan to raise themselves up because they look bad because they couldn’t heal the Man.

This Is a defensive act. This, this, this is, this is a negative attack. If we were going to put it in political terms to try and obscure the fact that they couldn’t heal the man at all. So they’re going to try and claim he did it, but he did it by the power of Satan. Okay. So here we are,

Matthew 22, or sorry, Matthew 12, verse 24. This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons, then verse 25. But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them now again, though, this is just very similar to what we studied about on Wednesday. They’re saying this, but they’re not spouting this out loud.

They’re not saying this publicly is in front of the crowd. And they’re certainly not saying this to Jesus’ face. And yet Jesus knowing their hearts and serves their argument before they can even begin to spread it. Notice what he says. He says every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. This is by the way, not the most comforting passage to be reading this month.

Okay? I’m just saying, this is not one of the most comforting passages in scripture at this moment in time, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand here? They are. They’re making this claim that Satan is using his own power to cast out his own demons out of individuals.

And Jesus goes back behind the argument and says, your argument is a logical fallacy. Satan will not work against himself. Certainly not intentionally work against himself. And so Jesus goes back to the premise and says, because the premise you’ve worked upon his faults, your arguments, faults, your answers faults, and it shows you to be who you really are.

And that’s a liar. Okay? But he goes on to say, and if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cash them out, therefore they shall be your judge. What does he mean by this?<inaudible> Do you think there’s a possibility that any of the quite literal descendants sons of the Pharisees? So if you, if you picture the Pharisees here being the middle age and older rabbis and teachers,

the ones who are of elevated stature, the ones who are of prominence, the ones who have power to lose, but you think about the age of Jesus and all of his disciples, likelihood is all of his disciples were younger than him. He began his ministry when he was how old, 30 we’re in the second year of his ministry. So he’s about 31,

32 years old. Most likely all of his disciples are that age or younger. So all of his disciples are probably 30 or 20, or which means they’re the ages of these Benz sons. So are, is there any potential that some of these men’s sons are actually following Jesus? We know there were those who followed Jesus, who weren’t of the 12,

who could perform miracles, you Jesus, Or the disciples came to Jesus that time. And they said, here’s this man. Who’s not with us, but he’s performing miracles. Should we tell Him to stop? So We knew, we know there were people who were following Jesus, but weren’t of the 12 that had the ability to perform miracles. When Jesus sent the 70 out,

he sent the, Have the out, into all the regions around and they came back and they said that we were able to heal people. And we were, and demons were, were willing to submit to us and all of these wonderful things that they did while they were sent out by Jesus and Jesus comes back and says, The thing that’s most important is,

is your name written in the kingdom of heaven? He draws I’m away from the, the glory of the miracles. They were able to perform back to what was most important, and that was their soul Condition. But I say all that To say, is it possible? And I’m just Raising this as an option here. Is It possible that some of the Pharisees own children,

Drin we’re following Jesus? And the answer is certainly yes. So Jesus says, if I do it by the power of Satan, what are you saying about your own children? What are you saying about your own sons who are following me? Who do the same thing? Okay. So now he takes the premise of the argument about a house divided against itself.

Satan casting out Satan, a way, then he lays on them. Well, if you’re saying this is true about me, you’re saying about everyone else who does it? That includes some of your sons. So now they’ve made an argument against themselves. And then he says, verse 28. But if I cast out demons by the spirit of God, surely the kingdom Of God has come upon you all right now,

here’s, here’s the problem. And here’s what he’s done. He took away their arguing about it being from Satan. Okay. That, that the logic doesn’t work. So the argument falls that the logical conclusion of the argument is fallacious. Therefore, a premise is fallacious. So he makes the argument go away. Then he says, now you’ve got an emotive argument,

but if I’m doing it by the power of Satan, that means you’re claiming your sons are doing it by the power of Satan. And you won’t make that argument. That leaves the other alternative because they’re in a situation where either it’s Satan doing it, or What’s the other alternative, it’s God doing it. He’s tired Take in their argument where they’ve lied against him.

He’s torn away the foundation of the argument, he’s shown the logical fallacy. And then he’s put them in a situation. Now, the Only other alternative they have is God, he doesn’t argue for it. He says, if this is the case now in, in reality, he is arguing for it, but he’s setting them. He’s setting them up.

He’s setting them up for a conclusion they don’t want because he’s taken the logic of their argument and decimate. It turned around with the only other alternative, which is God’s the one behind it. And the logical conclusion of God being behind it is I am the son of David. Notice what he said. He said, if I cast out demons by the spirit of God,

surely the kingdom of God, which was a prophecy of old Testament, prophets concerning the Messiah and the one who would sit on the throne in David’s place. The son of David He’s Now forced them into a conclusion that says, if we say it’s from God, then we say he must be Messiah. Do you remember Number what he did with the Pharisees?

When they said by whose authority do you do these things? And he says, I’ll answer your question. If you answer mine first, The Baptism of John from whence, did it come from heaven or from men. And they reasoned within themselves. If we say it was from heaven, then he’ll question us why we didn’t know Bay it. If we say it’s for men,

we fear the people because everyone believes John to have been a prophet, the prophet. And so they say, we cannot say, what’s he done? He’s put them in a logical position where an illogical argument, where they have no other alternatives, they can either admit what is obviously true. Or they can lie and get in trouble. They won’t lie about their sons.

They’ll lie about him, but they won’t lie about their sons. So now they have no other recourse. But to admit that he is exactly who they don’t want to claim he is, Okay. So then we read Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods? Unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.

He who is not with me is against me. And he who does not gather with me, scatters abroad. Jesus. Now not only defies their argument about him using the power of Satan, but he goes so far in the other direction to say, I’m the standard Either. You’re with me or you’re not with God. Now, the Pharisees would never make that argument.

The Pharisees wouldn’t go so far as to say that the Pharisees would, would, would castigate someone who didn’t agree with them. The Pharisees didn’t like those who oppose them, but the Pharisees would not go so far as to claim that they held the position of God, But Jesus did. And so now he says, okay, if you’re working against me,

then that puts you all right. And I watch the logic. Well swing. He said, Satan, won’t cast out Satan And your sons cast out demons. Therefore, if they’re doing it by the power of God, so am I, therefore I’m doing it by the power of God. Therefore the kingdom of God is come. Therefore I am the Messiah.

And therefore, if you oppose me, you’re back on The other team, he just put them on Satan’s team. All without saying all of that specifically, he did it through the logical arguments that he made to defeat there’s place himself, where he belongs and then show them for what they were. Okay. Okay. Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men,

but the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven. Men. Anyone who speaks a word against the son of man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the age to come either, make the tree good or end its fruit good or else make the tree bad.

And its fruit bad for a tree is known by Fruit. Having set up this situation, having given this argument, he now sets forward that they have a problem because they’re entering a situation where they can, can and are going to condemn themselves. They’re Going to look at the miracles of the Holy spirit and they’re going to claim those came from Satan. And then he says,

I tell you what, let’s just do it This way. The one who produces good fruit, he is a good tree. I Am the one that produces evil. Fruit Is an evil tree. Now, which one are you? He’s laid forth a where Their deeds and their actions and their words judged them. And the people can look at the miracles and say,

that’s not from Satan. They can look at the words of Christ and say, those were the words of God. They can look at the deeds of Christ and say, he’s doing what God said. And they can look at the Pharisees and go, that’s not it. And then they can choose between the two, but he’ll even go one step further.

He’ll say verse 34 brood of Vipers. What’s that mean? You pit of snakes, you family of serpents. How can you notice this phrase? Being evil, speak good things. How do you think they took that About as well as anybody who’s who’s public, public individual. Who’s just been called a family of serpents. You got it. Okay. So he calls them a brood of Vipers.

He says, how can you being able to speak good things? He says for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. He goes back behind all of their accusations and all of their conniving and all of their deceiving and all of their, their attempts to set him up and to get him to say something and get him to do wrong and get him to heal on the Sabbath.

And he says, the problem you have is your evil. You remember John chapter eight, John chapter eight, Jesus said, you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. And the Jews responded. We’ve never been in bondage. What are you talking about? And then Jesus accuses them a few verses later of the being of their father,

because their father was a liar from the beginning. And they were just like him and accuses them of being the children of Satan. And yet they would say, no, no, no, no. We’re the descendants of Abraham. We’re the chosen people. We’re the people of God. We’re, we’re the, we’re the most religious out of the people of God.

What are you talking about? And Jesus said, no, you’re not. You’re a family of liars<inaudible> And they would go so far as to knowingly state that the power of God was the power of Satan.<inaudible> Verse 35, a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. And an evil man out of the evil is your brings forth evil things.

But I say to you that for every idle word, men may speak, they will give account in the day of judgment for, by your words, you will be justified. And by your words, you will be condemn. Jesus lays on them, the responsibility of their own words. When we get to a mindset that says the ends justify the means.

So I’m going to just change the story a little bit because in the end, everybody will be better for it. I’m going to just manipulate the story a little bit. I’m just going to tell it this way so that in the end, everybody goes along their Merry way. I would call this the Andy Griffith style of truth, Where As long as we just lie a little bit and don’t get caught everybody in the,

and we’ll be better off. And Jesus says, by your words, not your outcomes. Interestingly, you know, when God told the prophets in the old Testament, I want a man who will stand in the gap. I am looking for a prophet who will stand up and speak the truth. He didn’t say, and I’ll judge you based upon how successful you are in changing people’s minds.

When God told Jeremiah that he was going to go out and he was going to preach, share mine as a young man, when he begins his days of prophecy, God tells him I’m going to send you out and I’m going to send you to this people and they’re going to reject you and they’re going to hate you. And they’re going to imprison you and they’re not going to believe you.

And you’re going to go speak anyway.<inaudible> God, let Jeremiah know. I’ll judge you by whether or not you say what I tell you to say not I’ll judge you by whether or not they’ll hear what I tell you to say. And the Pharisees had flipped it around. The Pharisees, wanted themselves to be judged by how many people followed them by how many people listened to them,

by how many people did what they said and, and observed the laws and the traditions that they taught them. And Jesus said, no, you’ll be judged by your words, not by your outcomes. And every day we need to be reminded. That’s still true. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered that, Hey, they can’t let him just,

just say that teacher. We want to see a sign from you. Oh, the audacity, What were they? What, what, what had they just witnessed that they had responded to the people who saw a man who had a demon who was blind and who could not speak. And now he can see, and now he can speak. And the people see it.

They’re amazed. They think this is the son of David. The Pharisees response is he’s doing this by the power of Satan. And then he goes through all of this and their response is, will show us a sign, But I didn’t know any better. I think they were part of the media. It’s just, W w You know, I, my reaction would be where were you?

Five minutes ago? Thankfully, I’m not Jesus Verse. They, I was waiting for somebody to amen, verse 39, but he answered and said to them and evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign. And no sign will be given it except the sign of the prophet. Jonah. Here’s an interesting thing. The people of Nineveh back in Jonah’s day.

So go back in your mind to the book of Jonah. God tells Jonah a prophet in Israel, you go to Nineveh and you do what convert them. Well, he gave him an eight word sermon. You go tell them this. And Jonah did what He got on a boat and started going. The other direction. Nineveh at the time was beginning to come to its power,

but it wasn’t there yet. This was still a hundred years before the Assyrians Nineveh being their capital would destroy the Northern kingdom of Israel. They’re not, they’re not the world power that they would be later, but they’re, they’re starting to come to power. And one of the things they’re known for is their ruthlessness, their evil in their atrocities. They would commit whenever they’d go attack someone and God tells Jonah,

you go tell them to repent, or I’m going to destroy. Jonah goes the other direction. We can surmise as to why. I think it’s pretty obvious in my opinion, that he does not want them to be saved. They’re a threat to Israel and they’re not Israelites. They’re not the people of God. So why should he go save them? Matter of fact,

he’ll say as much in chapter four, when he’ll see God relent because they repented. And he’ll say, I knew it. I knew if they did what you said, you wouldn’t destroy him. So Jonah goes the other direction. God brings up a storm. God prepares a fish. Jonah gets thrown overboard. We know the story. He gets spit up on land.

And then he proceeds to go to Nineveh. Something to notice is all the artistic drawings we’ve ever seen in the children’s storybooks, where Nineveh’s right by the sea, where Jonah gets spat up Nineveh wasn’t by the sea. Nobody in Nineveh witnessed him being spit out of the ocean. He shows up like any other person who shows up at Nineveh, walking there on land and having arrived.

He begins to preach. Did they in Nineveh? See a sign? No. Okay. Jonah went to the city and Jonah began to preach. Jesus now has taken the scribes and the Pharisees. And he’s just said, you are less. The people of God, then Nineveh was in Jonah’s day. But he says, I’ll give you a sign. He says,

you wicked and adulterous generation, the ones who seek a sign. And by the way, they saw a sign, but they weren’t going to believe it. All right, that, that was the thing. The people of Nineveh, they didn’t well, show us, assign, show us, prove it to us. Deuce, call down something from heaven or,

or heal some button. They didn’t ask for that. And yet they repented from least to the greatest. So here, these Israelites are, and they’re saying, show us a sign. He says for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish. So will the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth,

the men of Nineveh will arise in judgment with this generation and condemn it. He said, we’ll believe that you do this by the power of God. Just do one more miracle. And Jesus said on the day of judgment, none of is going to rise up and they’re going to condemn you for the evil adulterous people About me. The only thing you could do to say an Israelite was worse than a brood of Vipers would be to say that Gentiles were better than them and would condemn them.

And that’s exactly what Jesus does. He says because they repented at the many great signs and wonders that Jonah performed, Right? No, They repented at the preaching of Jonah and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it for, she came from the end of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

Then Solomon performed great signs and wonders and miracles. He had the wisdom from God in judgment, but she came because she had heard of all the things that he did. And Jesus said, she’s going to rise up and condemn you because she having only heard the rumors believed it enough to travel all the way to Israel, to find out if the rumors were true and you won’t even admit they’re true.

When you see them. The queen of Shiva said, when she saw the wisdom of Solomon, she said the half has not even been told, having witnessed it for herself, but they would see the miracles and claim. It came from Satan. When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest and finds none.

Then he says, I will return to my house from which I came. And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits, more wicked than himself. And they enter into well they’re in the last state of man is worse than the first. So shall it be wicked generation?

Jesus uses the illustration of one who, as it were as demon possessed and demons cast out. But instead of doing anything good with the person’s life, they just continue on the way they were theirs. We don’t really know anything about how demon possession works. So we’re not going to try and make a whole lot of speculations. Other than this speculation, the demon came into an individual.

For some reason, maybe it had nothing to do with that individual’s choices. And maybe it did. It seems in this case, it did the person’s choices could have kept the demon from coming back, but he doesn’t make a good choice. Instead. He does nothing with the freedom he’s been granted and the demon returns fold. We can say that much.

We can also bring that forward to a more modern idea. Since we don’t have demon possession today, here’s a person whose life is filled with sin. They hear the truth. They hear the gospel. They repent of their sins. They’re converted to Christ. They’re immersed in water for the remission of their sins. They rise up to walk in newness of life.

All those past sins are gone. So they proceed to go into life now with a new life, with being a new creature, having no sin to their charge, but they don’t change their life. They don’t begin to instill in their life. Good things. They don’t begin to instill in their life righteous actions. They don’t begin to actually all Bey God,

they continue down a road of ambivalence. Do you think Satan’s going to let them stay on that road as his new Satan’s going to give them every opportunity to not only go back into sin, but to go deeper than they ever were before to make sure they never try and crawl out again. And that happens to people. And Jesus said, that’s the situation of this wicked generation.

Now I want to point out this is during the time when Jesus is popular, but what’s going to happen when Jesus starts giving them hard sayings, they’re going to turn on him. They’re going to depart from him. And they’re going to do exactly what Jesus is saying here. Verse 46, while he was still talking to the multitudes. Behold, his mother and brothers stood outside,

seeking to speak with him. Then one said to him, look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak with you. But he answered and said to the one who told him, who is my mother and who are my brothers. And he stretched out his hand toward his disciples and said, here are my mother and my brothers for whoever does the will of my father,

who is in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. At the time that Jesus spoke this, he has bred his brothers. His sisters were not believing as to who he was. It seems to be true that Mary believed who he was. But the majority of his family did not. They would later by all accounts, after his resurrection, they wouldn’t come to understand and believe who he was.

But Jesus said, my family are those who obey God. And a lot of Christians have had to make the choice in their own lives to say to their own family. My family are those who obey God, not necessarily those whose house I was born into. And it’s sad when that happens, but here’s the, here’s the reality behind that statement. Jesus is also letting his disciples know you’re going to have to turn against your family.

If you’re going to be obedient to God. Now, step right back to his statement, to the Pharisees about their sons. If those sons were going to be his disciples and going to follow him, who were they not going to get the support of their family? And so Jesus lays forth an example saying, you’re my family. If you do what I command you,

if you do the will of my father in heaven. But if you don’t, you’re no family of mine. Okay? So we’ll go through the questions and review those Wednesday night. Thank you for your attention. First of all, if as you came into the auditorium, if you didn’t pick up your Lord supper there and the table, as you walked through the door,

now’s a good time to do it. Go back and pick it up. And I’ll continue on with these announcements. If you’re visiting with us, we want you to know that you are indeed our honored guest. If you would pick up one of those colored cards in the Pew, in front of you and fill it out and either leave it on the Pew or hand it to one of us,

either way, it will be taken care of need to remember our sick. I was talking with Marie. Joan is really suffering with her migraine headaches. She’s had several in the past few days and she’s still losing weight. So for sure, keep Joan in your prayers. Dorothy Wilson still suffering from extremely high blood pressure. And as is her husband Rodale. I think his problems are mostly with arthritis,

but anyway, on a brighter note, it’s good to see Noah Olson back with us after having been down with the COVID-19 and in fact, Noah will be our song leader today. Now wait a minute. They switched. So yeah, no one is going to lead the lead. The songs, Elena sharp, Shelly stacks, mother has double pneumonia and is suffering from a Murcia sore in the back of head.

She is the picture I’ve seen is really, really severe. So keep her in your prayers. Barbara Diller is home recovering from rotator cuff procedure, and she’s still in a lot of pain. That arm has to be mobilized for a couple of weeks. And that’s got to be very, very uncomfortable and keep the Ken Phillip keep Ken Phillips in your prayers.

That’s a day old, a friend. He has COVID and he also has blood clots. He has a lot of serious problems. Keep these people in your prayers. Remember Francis Redmond, the loss of her daughter, Sandra this past. Well, it’s been a little over a week now, but she’s doing well. And I think under the circumstances, we’re not recovering,

but handling the situation very well. I have a card here from Rushmore posted on the bulletin board so y’all can read it. But a few days, this is from Louis. A few days ago, I spent 15. I sent 15,000 to get Guyana for nationwide workshops, TV programs, and literature distribution. Before that, I stand about twice as much to India for TV programs and literature,

you help make all of this possible. Thanks Louis. So some of our missionary work appears to be going very, very well today’s service. The song leader will be no Olsen. The opening prayer will be Michael Dale, Marjorie Phillips we’ll have the Lord’s supper. Aaron Cozort will have the sermon and Tommy Laster will have the closing prayer. Thank you all for your attendance.

Good morning. First song. This morning is going to be number 474 seven zero victory in Jesus. We will sing the first and third verses of 470. Let us think. I heard an old, old story. How a savior came from glory, how he gave his life on Calvary to save a wretch like me. I heard his groaning of his precious bla toning that Irie parented up my eyes and enzyme one<inaudible> Oh,

victory. Geez, smile, save. You know, for a river. He saw me and bought me with his reading and he loved me<inaudible> I knew him and I love his do him. He plunged me to victory being knee cleansing. FLA. I heard about a man, John. He is build for me and glory. And I heard about the street of gold beyond the<inaudible> about the angels sing and the old redone them Shannon’s story.

And some sweet day. I’ll sing there. Song of victim Ori. Oh, victory. Jeez. My savior for he saw me and bought me with his reading, blah. He loved me. I knew him and my is do, and he plunged me to victory. The knee cleansing flaw. Our next song is going to be number 604, six zero four.

He’ll sing all three verses. And then after which brother Michael Dale is going to lead us in opening for number 604. I want to be ready to meet him all three verses. Let us think. You may. I have your worldly pleasures, your silver and your gold. You may pile up all the riches that this old world can hold, but I’d rather have my save your and with him,

for least. And for, I want to be ready to meet him in the glory. Then I want to be ready to meet him. And then I want to be ready to meet him in the sky. Oh, I want to me more like him, man, do his blessed come and for, I want to be ready to meet him and the glory that you may talk about,

your riches, your diamonds and your pearls. You may gain the wealth for ages of this and all the worlds, but the savior is more precious with am. I’ll take my stand for, I want to be ready to meet him and the glory and I want to be ready to meet him by and by. I want to be ready to meet him in the sky.

Oh, I want to be more like him and do his blessed CTCA. And for, I want to be ready to meet him and the glory. And there is one thing I can boast of salvation from the fall I’m in air to well thing, glory. My father owns it all. That is why I’m shouting happy and go. He’s come. And for,

I want to be ready to meet him in the glory land. I want to be ready to meet him by and by. I want to be ready to meet him in the sky. Oh, I want to be more like as a man do is blessed man for, I want to be ready to meet him in the glory land. Please bear with me Our great and glorious father in heaven.

How Holy and awesome you are. We humbly bow before you as your servants. And we thank you so much for this time that we have to, and this opportunity that you give us to lift our voices and prayer to you and know that you hear us. We thank you Lord for this time that we have to worship you and songs and to listen to your word.

And we ask that we take what we hear today into our hearts and our minds. And we use it to further your work. At this time, father, we ask you that you be with all of those on our, on our prayer list. Those that have lost loved ones, be with them and comfort them and knowing where their, where their loved ones have gone.

And we ask that you be with those that on the number of those on our list that are sick and ailing. And if it be your will, we ask that you bring them back to us in a better health and let them be here to worship you with alongside us and Edify one another. And that at this time, Lord, we thank you so much for your son who died for us and that we are able to be with you one day in the sky.

We thank you so much for everything you’ve blessed us with and your son’s name. Amen. Long before the Lord’s supper, it’s going to be number 176, one 76, lamb of God, all three verses of one 76. And if you’re using the book, it says two verses, but on the slides, we’re going to go one, two and three.

One in the book is split in. Let’s just go off the slide. One 76 you’ll are only no sand to a time, but you have sent him from your sign to<inaudible> saw God and to be calm the lamb of God. Oh, lamb of God. Sweet lamb of God. I love the lamb of God. Oh, wash me and his precious blood.

My Jesus Christ. The lamb of God, your gift. They cruise as if they laughed and scorn him as he nine<inaudible> King, they named a frog God and sacrifice the lamb of God. Oh, lamb of God. Sweet lamb of God. I love the whole<inaudible> Oh, wash me and his precious blood. My Jesus Christ. The lamb of God.

I was so lost. I should have a side, but you have rot me to yours. To me.<inaudible> your staff and rod. And to be called the lamb of God. Oh, damn up. God sweet lamb of God. I love, Oh, the lamb of God. Oh, wash me and his precious blood. My Jesus Christ.

The lamb of God At, at this time, let’s remember the cross and the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sins. Let’s pray. Heavenly father. We’re thankful for this bread. It represents Jesus’ body. That was nailed to the cross for sins mankind, for him to follow you, please forgive us of our sins. Amen. As pray heavenly father,

we thank for this fruit of the vine, the represents Jesus blood that was shed on that terrible cross for our sins and pray heavenly father, you please forgive us of our sins. Amen. Separate from the Lord’s table. We have an opportunity to give us. We have prosper. That was great. Having a father with thankful for the financial gains you have given us through the years and we pray heavenly father you’ll accept a portion back to you so we can continue the work here at Collierville.

Amen. If you are using a Psalm book, if you want to go ahead and Mark number 909, there’s a fountain free will be the song and the invitation song before the lesson will be number 876 to Canaan’s land. I’m on my way, eight, seven, six, or excuse me. Eight, six, seven, my bad eight, six,

seven. We’ll sing the first, second and fourth verses of 867 to Canaan’s line. I’m on my way. Let us think To Kane Ann’s land. I’m on my way where the so never dies. My dark as night will turn today where the so never a guys. No,<inaudible> no.<inaudible> where<inaudible>. And so never Rose is blooming there for me where the so never dies.

And I will spin and turn where the so never a guys. No<inaudible> no<inaudible> guys were<inaudible> and so never guys. I am on my way to that fair land where the<inaudible>, where there will be no partying and where the so never no<inaudible> fair Wells. No,<inaudible> where<inaudible> and the so never cause it’s good to have no back Take your Bibles,

if you will. And open them to the book of Philippians, It’s good to have each and every one of you here this morning, especially those who are visiting with us, we are grateful for your presence and we hope you will be back every opportunity that you have. We’re also mindful of those who are still with us remotely and mindful, especially of,

of Ms. Francis at this time. And the things that she is going through. Please keep her in your prayers. There are passages in scripture where God encapsulates in a few words, A picture of what he wants. We have a phrase in our society that goes something along the lines of a picture’s worth a thousand words, but a good paragraph or couple of sentences can paint An amazing picture.

And God does that through the Penman, Paul, As he’s writing to the church at Philippa, and he writes to them there in chapter one and tells them exactly what God wants To see when he sees the church. And he paints a picture for us beginning in verse 27, going down through verse 31 or verse 30 of the picture of the church God wants.

And that picture is as accurate today as it was 2000 years ago, Paul writes to the church at<inaudible>. And as we go through this passage, we’ll examine each of these in turn, but I want to read the passage and I want to encapsulate or try to at least to the best of my abilities, The passage, and paint the picture for Olivia In chapter one,

verse 27. Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel and not in any way, terrified by your adversaries, which is to them, a proof of perdition,

but to you of salvation and That from God, for, to you, It has been granted on behalf of Christ. Not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me. And now here Is in me, allow me if you will, to take these verses And present them in their individual message,

break them down into a new thought. I thought that encapsulates what I think Paul is saying here, first and foremost, You see a unique message. And again, this is the picture of the church, a unique message, creating a unified people, standing together for a unified purpose, enduring a unified resistance for a unified reward For everyone who wanted to write that down,

let me go through it again. You have a unique message. Creating a unified piece Bull standing together for a unified purpose, Enduring a unified resistance For A unified reward. We’re going to break these down into three sections. Break this thought down into three sections. We begin in chapter one, verse 27. Paul says only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Paul calls upon the church and God calls upon the church to have a life, to have an existence, to have a conduct, a manner of life that is worthy of the gospel. God sends forth this good news, this message of the cross, this salvation that is proclaimed to the entire world and says, you set your life, your actions, your conduct,

your behavior in view of that. And you make sure your life is worthy of that. Now this is not what he’s saying. He is not saying you make sure and earn your salvation. I’ve laid the ground rules. Now go earn it. Now. That’s not what he’s saying. He’s saying God has called you to something amazing. He has called you to something unique that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the entire world.

The Hindus do not have a gospel message. The Muslims do not have a gospel message. The Chinese do not have a gospel message. They don’t, Oh God. Yes. In his wisdom and knowledge and foresight and manifest wisdom. As Paul describes it in Ephesians laid forth. The salvation that is offered in Jesus Christ by the church, through the blood of the lamb,

that is unique in all the world. And he called me, Calls his church to set their lives, their conduct, their actions, to be worthy of that call in first Corinthians chapter two first Corinthians chapter two, Paul writes to the church at Corinth and we will visit a few other passages, mainly in Corinthians as we go through the lesson this morning,

but keep your finger in, in Philippians because we will be back throughout our lesson. In first Corinthians chapter two, beginning in verse one, Paul writes to them and says, and I brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence that you speech or of wisdom declaring to you. The testimony of God for, I determined not to know anything among you,

except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear and in much trembling. And my speech in my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature yet,

not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing, but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory, but as it is written,

eye has not seen nor ear heard nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him, Paul, Right to these brethren and reminds them of the gospel he preached and the manner with which he preached it in verses one through five. He said, I did not preach it with excellence of speech. Paul was capable of preaching with excellence of excellence of speech,

but that’s not how he preached. He preached with planus. He says in verses six and seven, that it was not with the wisdom of the age. Paul knew the wisdom of the age. Paul could quote to those in Athens, their own philosophers. And yet that was not the message Paul preached. And he says the message he preached was not from the rulers of this age.

So many people will strive to be seen as those who are high and in accordance and in agreement with those who rule in the world as they’re alive. And Paul says, I don’t care who rules this world? And I don’t care about agreeing with them and I’m not going to spout what they spout. I’m going to preach the gospel. In first Corinthians chapter 15,

he goes on to say, moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel, which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand now, a whole lot of that verse ought to sound a whole lot like first or Philippians chapter one, verse 27. He’s called them to the gospel. He’s called them to that in which they are to stay in.

And he says by which also you are saved. If you hold fast, that word, which I preach to you, unless you believed in vain for, I delivered to you. And now he’s going to rehearse the, the, the central message of what he proclaimed. What is this unique gospel For? I delivered to you, first of all, that,

which I also received that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. So notice first and foremost, you have a Messiah who died. That was a unique message, But you have A Messiah who died in accordance with prophecies that had occurred hundreds of years before. That was a unique message. He says for Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he Rose again the third day,

according to the scriptures. Now notice you have a Messiah, a savior who comes, who lives, who dies, who does all of this in accordance with prophecies that have come hundreds of years in advance, but he doesn’t just die. He dies and is buried. And that seems to be the end. And everybody thinks it’s over his own disciples thought it was over Mary and the other Mary who came to the tomb,

thought it was over. They weren’t there to see the risen Christ. They were there to anoint a dead body. You see if it had been normal, if it had been like everything else, if it had not been unique, he’d have still been dead, But they can Came to the tomb and he wasn’t in the tomb. And the angel said,

why do you seek the living with the dead? And he Rose the third day in accordance with the scriptures. It’s one thing to prophesy about a Messiah coming. And it’s one thing to prophecy about the Messiah dying. It’s another thing to prophecy about the Messiah raising again from the dead Ed and that doesn’t exist anywhere else in history. And that he was seen by CFUs.

And Then by the 12, after that, he was seen by over 500 brethren at once of whom the greater part remained to the present, but some have fallen asleep. Paul reminds these Corinthian brethren, As he writes to them that Jesus wasn’t just seen by one person or two people or 12 people or 13 people, 14 people, but 500 plus people.

And he says, and most of them are still around. If you care to go to Jerusalem and meet them, You want to see someone who saw Christ. When he Rose from the dead, then go see them. The evidence is alive and walking around. After that, he was seen by James then by all the apostles. Then last of all,

he was seen by me also as one born out of due time. So Paul says there is a unique gospel dif From anything ever in humanity’s existence from then, until now, but that unique gospel create a unified people go back to verse 27 of Philippians, one Philippians one verse 27. Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see your maps,

and I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit notice, he says they are to stand fast. They are to hold firm. They are not to depart, not to move away, not to go their own direction, but to stand fast in the gospel message, same thing. He told the Corinthians, he said, the gospel I delivered to you and in which you stand and that they are to stand unified.

They are to stand with one spirit. They are to stand together, Striving together, Err, sorry. In one way, in one spirit with one mind striving together For the faith of the gospel Here, you have a unified people standing together for a unified Purpose. They are to be of one spirit they’re to be of one mind and they are to preach one message for one Purpose.

In first Corinthians chapter one, Paul again writes to Corinth as he He’s introducing his letter to them. And he says, in verse 10, now I plead with you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind.

And in the same judgment, he said the church, the church that Christ wants the church that Christ built the church that God wants is one that is unified in message in doctrine. And then action. But he’s going to let the Corinthians know that’s not the picture that they look like. If you were to hold up a picture of the church, God wants,

and then you were to hold up a picture of the church at Corinth. They wouldn’t overlap And they wouldn’t match. I remember when I was younger, before we had digital cameras and Cheap scanners and all sorts of crazy fun kids, stuff like that in the technology world we had what was called Transfer paper. And you could take something and you could put it underneath this paper and it was translucent.

You could see the outline something, and you could copy the outline of it. And we ruined a number of baseball cards this way. We wanted to create our own baseball card. So we would, we would transfer the outline of the card over onto another piece of paper. Guess what? Being Five or six year old that I was when I held it up and looked at the two after I was done,

they didn’t look that much. It wasn’t an exact copy. God wants his church to be a unified people standing together for a unified purpose. And that only happens when we have a unified Message. Philippians chapter Two, as Paul continues to write To these brethren, we read Chapter two, verse one. Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love,

if any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and mercy fulfill my joy by being like minded, having the same, love being one, a chord of one mind, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit or in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Paul calls upon these brethren who have a unified purpose. And the first purpose he lays before them is care for one, another humility of self and raising up of their brethren to care for them more than we care for ourselves. As a unifying people with a unified purpose, he wants them to preach the gospel, but he also wants them to care for one another.

He goes on in chapter three, chapter three, verse one. Finally, my brethren rejoice in the Lord for me to write the same thing to you is not tedious, but for you, it is safe, but where of dogs, but where of evil workers, but where of the mutilation for we are the circumcision who worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.

He wants him to be unified in purpose to preach the same message, but he also wants them to care for one another, but he also wants them to beware of false prophets. He wants them to be aware and cognizant that there are people who are teaching that, which is false and believing that the flesh is Enough And believing that they can teach that as long as you are happy,

as long as you are prosperous, as long as your flesh is gratified, you are fine. Nine Paul says no chapter four, Verse eight. He says, finally, brethren whatsoever. Things are true whatsoever. Things are noble whatsoever. Things are just whatsoever. Things are pure whatsoever. Things are lovely was where things are of good report. If there is any virtue.

And if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things, things which you have learned and receive and her Saul and see, or have seen in me, These do, And the God of peace will be with you. He wants these brethren to be unified in purpose, to preach the gospel. He wants them to be unified in care for one another.

He wants them to unified in opposition to false teachers and he wants them to do and teach You. Remember Jesus said in Matthew chapter seven, that the wise man and the foolish man were compared to one another. The wise man was the one who heard the sayings of Jesus and then did them. And the foolish man was the one who heard the sayings of Jesus and then did not do them.

And Paul doesn’t want the church to be a teaching church that doesn’t live its own Teaching. Yeah. So Paul calls upon these brethren to be unified in purpose to declare the gospel, to care for one another to beware of false prophets to do and teach the truth. But then also chapter four, verse 10 through verse 17, to support The gospel church.

If I was one of those churches that had, by what we read in this, in this letter, Ben continually sending Paul support to aid him in the work that he was doing in the missionary work that he was doing. And even at this time, while he is sitting in a Roman prison, They helped to sustain his life verse 10 of chapter four.

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at year care for me has flourished again, though. You surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Essentially what he’s saying there is you’ve been able to send funds to me, to help me in my situation. And I know you wanted to do it before, but you Couldn’t. This was a poor church,

not a rich one. He said you were okay Able to do this before. But then he says, not that I speak in regard to need for, I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to be a based, and I know how to abound elsewhere or excuse me, everywhere. In all things, I have learned both to be full and to be hungry,

both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well that you shared in my distress. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving. But you only for, even in Tesla, Nikah you send aid ones.

And again, four minuses, Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Paul says that the church that God wants is a church that’s unified in message. That cares for one another. That stands against false doctrine that is willing to put first the kingdom of heaven, but then is also going to teach and to preach And to support those who go Out to do the same.

That’s the picture of the church that Paul paints a unified people standing together for a unified purpose. And if Paul stopped there, maybe We could believe it’d be all sunshine and roses. If we did exactly that, but Paul didn’t stop there. Did he verse 28 Of chapter one? We remember that he said, and it not in any way, Terrified And not in any way,

terrified by your adversaries with them, a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, that is from God, verse 30, having the same conflict which you saw in me. And now here is in me. Paul sits in a Roman prison. Paul is sitting in prison for the gospel sake and he’s writing these brethren and says, do not be terrified by your adversaries.

Do not be held back, do not be held back by fear, do not be held back by their actions, do not be held back. Do not be terrified. We Are to be a unified people standing together for a unified purpose. Enduring a unified resistance Is everyone Who stands with Satan Resist the gospel. Every one who has said, I will hold allegiance to self,

to sin, to self-gratification and to want. And disobedience of God will oppose the gospel. No, Whether they will do it silently or whether they will do it vocally, they will oppose The gospel. And Paul wants these brethren to remember that that’s no excuse Verse three. We read, I thank my God. Upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine,

making requests for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day, until now being confident of this very thing that he, who has begun a good work in, you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ just as it is right. For me to think this, think this of you, because I have you in my heart in as much as both in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel,

you all are partakers with me of grace. Paul Paul Said, I’m in chains and bonds. I’m in prison. And yet you share in the same grace. I do. He wants them to know That though. Some people will look at persecution and claim that’s evidence. God’s not with you. Notice what he said here in verse 20 verse 28, he said,

which is to them, a proof of perdition. Have you ever heard the phrase? Well, that wouldn’t be happening to them. If they were the people Of God, They wouldn’t be persecuted the way they’re persecuted. If they were really who they claimed to be. Paul says that to the argument of the evil people. That’s the argument of the unbelievers that they see the church and they see it persecuted and they see it in prison and they see it under bondage.

And they see it going through these trials. When they see that’s proof of perdition of ungodliness. And he says, it’s not. He says, but to you Of salvation, Wait a minute, Paul, what are you saying? Paul is saying, when you are in prison and you are in chains and you are in bonds as I am, I am,

yes. Look at those chains and you don’t see that God is against you. You have evidence he’s for You. Oh, How, how does that work this way? Jesus said to his disciples before he left this earth, if they hated me, they’ll hate you. Also, If they’ve done this to me, they’ll do the same thing to you.

So Paul looked at his bonds and his chains and didn’t say, God, why have you forsaken me? He looked at his bonds and his chains and said, I’ve been granted Grace to preach the gospel, even in chains and in bonds, proof of salvation and that from God. But then there’s this last piece unified people. Let me go all the way back to the beginning.

A unique message. Creating a unified people, standing together for a unified purpose, enduring a unified resistance for a unified reward. Verse 29. Paul writes for, to you. It has been granted on behalf of Christ. Not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. Wait a minute air. Are you saying our reward is to suffer?

Nope. And yes, because When we share in his suffering, we’re told in scripture, we share in something else, turn over to second or Philippians chapter two, verse five, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ. Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,

taking the form of a bond servant and coming in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him the name, which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of those in heaven and those on earth and of those under the earth.

And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. The father Paul said that we have a unified purpose in, during a unified resistance for a unified reward because suffer with Christ. And then he said, and Christ suffered that God in turn might exalt Him. Philippians chapter two To verse 14, he says, do all things without complaining and disputing that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the world,

holding fast, the word of life so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labelled labored in vain. Yes. And if I am being poured out as a drink, offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all for the same reason. You also Glad and rejoice with me,

Paul, what do you have to be joyful for? What do you have to rejoice about your suffering, their suffering? Where’s the rejoicing Joy sing is in the reward. The salvation, when this life is over, see Paul could die in prison. As a matter of fact, in chapter one, he said I’m between as it were a rock and a hard place,

because my desire is this is over. My desire is to go home and be with the Lord. I’m in a straight between us two. I don’t know which to choose, but I know for yours Or sake, which one is going to be, Paul would leave that prison for a time. But based Upon what we know from history, wouldn’t be very Long and he’d be back.

And that time he’d never leave. But Paul realized what I read in verse 20 of chapter one, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing, I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness as always. So now, now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death, for me to live is Christ and to die Is gay unified people standing together for a unified purpose,

enduring a unified resistance for a unified reward. That’s the picture of the church that Christ wants, but it all begins with a unique message When our message stops being unique, not because there’s something to replace it, but because we’ve stopped Preaching it and we’ve stopped living it When we’ve watered it down and adulterated it to such an extent that it sounds like everybody else’s message.

It will never produce a unified people, striving Being together for a unified purpose, enduring a unified resistance because when the resistance come, the people who see a message that looks just like the one they’ve always believed, but has no resistance. Guess what they’ll do. They’ll leave that message behind and go to this other one where they’re not being opposed because it’s easier because it doesn’t have any cost attached to it because it doesn’t require anything.

It starts with a unique Message. Paul wrote to the church at Galatians and said he marveled that they were so soon removed From the grace of God that they received through the gospel to go into part two, another gospel, which he said is not another guy. He said, some of you have been deceived and you have departed from the grace of God,

The gins with a unique message Of a Christ who would come, who would die, but wouldn’t stay dead. Who would rise again on a third, on the third day, who would ascend up into heaven, who would sit at the right hand of God who would deliver his people from four? Or excuse me from San for salvation. Yeah. And if you’re outside of the body of Christ this morning,

you need to understand that Jesus Christ came to die. Yes. To save mankind, but to save them by redeeming and purchasing his Church whose body we are. If we hold fast, the doctrine that he left behind. But If we don’t, we are not Of his Jesus said in Matthew chapter 12, these are my brethren and my sisters and my mother,

those who do the will of my father, Who is in heaven. So if you’re outside the body of Christ this morning, you’re outside of the place where salvation is found, where grace is found, where hope is found, where mercy is found. You’re not a part of the people of God. And we don’t want that for you. We don’t want you to stay there.

We don’t want your hope to be damnation. We want your hope to be salvation. That’s found in Christ and found only in his body, which is the church you’re outside the body of Christ. You enter into salvation by hearing the word of God and believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God. You enter into salvation by repenting of your sins and having a change of mind.

That brings about a change of life to go. I’m not going to live that way anymore. I have to be unified with his people. I have to have conduct worthy of the gospel to confess the name of Christ and be immersed in water for the remission of your sins, buried in water, dying to sin, rising up a new creature and newness of life.

And then becoming a part of the church. Because in acts chapter two, we’re told that those who gladly received the word were added to the church by the Lord, based upon them being saved, they weren’t added to the church and then say they were saved and added to the church, but they didn’t join the church. God added to them, them to the church.

They became a part of the body when they had their sins washed away. And they did that when they were baptized, you’re outside the body of Christ this morning, don’t stay there because the picture of the church can be what the church really is. If you’re a member of the body of Christ and your actions in the church, don’t match the purpose,

the unified purpose of the church. Then they need to change. You need to come back, you need to repent and you need to come home. If you have need of salvation, if you have need of repentance, if you have any need at all, why not come as we stand in, as we say, Hey, so Hey, Stu is spring is the founder from the us or,

and he bids Saul free. The dreaming well, you to the fountain free. Will you TIS for you and me thirsty?<inaudible> here. The welcome call, TIS a foul and Oh, and four also there’s a rock that’s flat pan. So is that<inaudible> is for you and me and his stream. I see. Let us, Hey, Angela,

will you to the fountain free, will you TIS for you and me thirsty? So here, the welcome call is found and hope. And for also closing song this morning is going to be number 711 seven one one blessed be the tie that binds or sing the first Bruce, this song, then we’ll have our closing prayer, 711 blessed be the title.

Listen, blessed<inaudible> of the fellowship of<inaudible> that Would you bow with me, God and father in heaven. We’re in date thankful for this beautiful first day of the week that you’ve given us and allowed us the freedom and the privilege to worship fi and sing praises to your name, father. We thank you for the great lessons that we’ve studied here today and pray that we can apply that to our lives,

to be better stewards of your word father. We’re also mindful of those of our number who are sick and have lost, loved ones. We pray father that you will comfort them is you only know how, by the way, pray that as we leave this building, that we will continue to strive to be that light to those around us and set that example and bring the loss to you,

father, we thank you for your son, Jesus, and that great sacrifice that was made. If I would pray, you’ll be with us and keep us safe and forgive us, our sins Christ’s name. We pray. Amen.<inaudible>.

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1-17-2021 – Live Stream -Sunday AM Class and Worship

In Bible Classes Videos, Jesus, Live Streams, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

Going to be beginning in verse 22, going through the end of the chapter. Again, the material pulling out different things from Jesus’s second year of ministry. And so there are some sections where we’re going to get part of a chapter instead of a whole chapter. And so that’s, that’s the reason why we’re here. Let’s begin with word prayer, Our gracious father in heaven.

We bow before you grateful for the day. You’ve blessed us with, for the opportunities that we have to serve you, to praise your name, to glorify you. And to honor you in all of the ways that you have given us the ability to do, we are so incredibly grateful for the mercy that you give to us each and every day, to allow us to see another day,

to allow us to arise and have the health, to be able to assemble together and serve you, to be able to worship and study your word. We pray that you be with our country and the upcoming days, may there be peace and may those who lead this country make decisions which lead toward peace instead of uprising, pray that you will help us to always strive to live peaceably with all men,

as much as lies within us and help us to always yet stand fast for the faith. Never wavering, always speaking the truth in love. We pray that you forgive us when we sin and fall short of your glory, help us to have a heart that is ready and mindful to repent. When we know we’ve done wrong, but we also ask for forgiveness of those things that we do wrong,

that we may not realize we have done pray that you be with us. As we go through this period of study, may all that we say and do be in accordance with your will. We pray for those in this congregation. Who’ve lost loved ones in recent days, and we pray that you will be with them and comfort them and help them through the difficulties that will come their way in these days.

And weeks ahead, we pray that you will help us to be a strength and a comfort to all those who are struggling and pray that they will seek strength and comfort through your word and through the faith that is in Jesus Christ. All this, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Matthew chapter 1222 Begins. Then one who was brought to him who was demon possessed,

blind, and mute. And he healed him so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. This was a lease by way of scriptural record. A rather rare recurrence. There would be times where a blind person would be brought to Jesus or would encounter Jesus. And Jesus would heal his sight. There would be times where a person who was mute would encounter Jesus and Jesus would cause them to be able to speak again.

There would be times when someone was deaf or lame or some other individual problem, and Jesus would fix that. But rarely would you have so many different situations, all compounded in the same individual. And yet what you see here is the primary problem back of all of it was his demon possession. Okay? The fact that he was possessed by a demon is seeming to be part of the,

the bigger problem at large, that was causing his other problems. So either way, you’ve got Jesus dealing with three separate issues. This man’s demon possessed. This man’s blind. This man cannot speak. And so Jesus heals him. Now. There’s not some great long record. There’s not some long oratory or fanciful actions that occur. Jesus just heals him.

And the man can see, and the man can speak all the multitudes. Verse 23 were amazed and said, could this be, and what did they say? What did they call him? The son of David. Now, do they mean by that? Oh, look, this, this person’s from the tribe of Judah and happens to be from the lineage of David.

Like they’d been missing anybody from the lineage of David all this time. No. So what do they mean?<inaudible> Gay man of God. Great leader. What was David King? Does Israel have a King at this point in time from among Israel? No, they don’t. Herod is the one who’s been set up by the Roman government, but he’s not actually a Jew.

He’s a Herodians. And so he’s from a completely different lineage. He’s not from the tribe of Judah. He’s not from David. And so they save this. This is not, Oh, look, this guy must be from the tribe of Judah because he’s done this great miracle. No, this is, is this. The Messiah is this man, the son of David,

the one who would reign on the throne of David, the one who would deliver Israel, the savior of Israel. That’s what this statement is. Okay. So notice first and foremost, you have the unparalleled situation by way of other times, other diseases, other things that Jesus has has, has healed, then you have the kind of the unparalleled reaction.

Wait a minute, is this the Messiah? But then notice what occurs. Now, when the Pharisees heard it, they said this fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons, the Pharisees knee-jerk reaction to hearing the people question is this, the Messiah is this, the son of David, is this the King we’ve been waiting for,

was not to deal with the question. Honestly, it was not to look at the facts. It was not to examine the potential of that being true. It was to do what Lie Their knee-jerk reaction is to lie. There’s A reality that we face that when we’ve given a lot, a great deal of time and fought and energy to speak carefully and wisely and thoughtfully,

we may speak in a way that is better than our natural reaction. I mean, let’s hope so. W when you’re, when you’re calm and patient and thoughtful, and you’re not in, you’re not in the moment, you may find a better way to phrase things or a better thing to say than when you’re just reacting. But when you’re just reacting,

if we all are just a little bit harshly, honest with ourselves, you tend to be just a bit more honest to what you really think and feel. And this is the Pharisees reacting. This is them being honest to how they truly feel about Jesus. That is, they hate him so much. They will claim. He came from Satan to avoid admitting what they know to be true.

And so their gut reaction, their immediate reaction to the people is no, no, no. This man heals this man cast out demons by the power of Satan. This man cast out demons by the power of Satan. Now, wait a minute.<inaudible> One of the other things that you get when you have kind of that just knee jerk reaction, and you spout something off in the moment is you might not quite have thought through all the implications of your argument.

And that’s what Jesus is going to attack. Jesus is going to attack the premise under their argument, their argument being the only reason he can take the person’s demon away. And we can’t is he’s using the power of Satan and we wouldn’t. Okay. That’s, that’s really, what’s behind this whole thing is they’re trying to lower Jesus. They’re trying to say he’s doing this by the power of Satan to raise themselves up because they look bad because they couldn’t heal the Man.

This Is a defensive act. This, this, this is, this is a negative attack. If we were going to put it in political terms to try and obscure the fact that they couldn’t heal the man at all. So they’re going to try and claim he did it, but he did it by the power of Satan. Okay. So here we are,

Matthew 22, or sorry, Matthew 12, verse 24. This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons, then verse 25. But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them now again, though, this is just very similar to what we studied about on Wednesday. They’re saying this, but they’re not spouting this out loud.

They’re not saying this publicly is in front of the crowd. And they’re certainly not saying this to Jesus’ face. And yet Jesus knowing their hearts and serves their argument before they can even begin to spread it. Notice what he says. He says every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. This is by the way, not the most comforting passage to be reading this month.

Okay? I’m just saying, this is not one of the most comforting passages in scripture at this moment in time, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand here? They are. They’re making this claim that Satan is using his own power to cast out his own demons out of individuals.

And Jesus goes back behind the argument and says, your argument is a logical fallacy. Satan will not work against himself. Certainly not intentionally work against himself. And so Jesus goes back to the premise and says, because the premise you’ve worked upon his faults, your arguments, faults, your answers faults, and it shows you to be who you really are.

And that’s a liar. Okay? But he goes on to say, and if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cash them out, therefore they shall be your judge. What does he mean by this?<inaudible> Do you think there’s a possibility that any of the quite literal descendants sons of the Pharisees? So if you, if you picture the Pharisees here being the middle age and older rabbis and teachers,

the ones who are of elevated stature, the ones who are of prominence, the ones who have power to lose, but you think about the age of Jesus and all of his disciples, likelihood is all of his disciples were younger than him. He began his ministry when he was how old, 30 we’re in the second year of his ministry. So he’s about 31,

32 years old. Most likely all of his disciples are that age or younger. So all of his disciples are probably 30 or 20, or which means they’re the ages of these Benz sons. So are, is there any potential that some of these men’s sons are actually following Jesus? We know there were those who followed Jesus, who weren’t of the 12,

who could perform miracles, you Jesus, Or the disciples came to Jesus that time. And they said, here’s this man. Who’s not with us, but he’s performing miracles. Should we tell Him to stop? So We knew, we know there were people who were following Jesus, but weren’t of the 12 that had the ability to perform miracles. When Jesus sent the 70 out,

he sent the, Have the out, into all the regions around and they came back and they said that we were able to heal people. And we were, and demons were, were willing to submit to us and all of these wonderful things that they did while they were sent out by Jesus and Jesus comes back and says, The thing that’s most important is,

is your name written in the kingdom of heaven? He draws I’m away from the, the glory of the miracles. They were able to perform back to what was most important, and that was their soul Condition. But I say all that To say, is it possible? And I’m just Raising this as an option here. Is It possible that some of the Pharisees own children,

Drin we’re following Jesus? And the answer is certainly yes. So Jesus says, if I do it by the power of Satan, what are you saying about your own children? What are you saying about your own sons who are following me? Who do the same thing? Okay. So now he takes the premise of the argument about a house divided against itself.

Satan casting out Satan, a way, then he lays on them. Well, if you’re saying this is true about me, you’re saying about everyone else who does it? That includes some of your sons. So now they’ve made an argument against themselves. And then he says, verse 28. But if I cast out demons by the spirit of God, surely the kingdom Of God has come upon you all right now,

here’s, here’s the problem. And here’s what he’s done. He took away their arguing about it being from Satan. Okay. That, that the logic doesn’t work. So the argument falls that the logical conclusion of the argument is fallacious. Therefore, a premise is fallacious. So he makes the argument go away. Then he says, now you’ve got an emotive argument,

but if I’m doing it by the power of Satan, that means you’re claiming your sons are doing it by the power of Satan. And you won’t make that argument. That leaves the other alternative because they’re in a situation where either it’s Satan doing it, or What’s the other alternative, it’s God doing it. He’s tired Take in their argument where they’ve lied against him.

He’s torn away the foundation of the argument, he’s shown the logical fallacy. And then he’s put them in a situation. Now, the Only other alternative they have is God, he doesn’t argue for it. He says, if this is the case now in, in reality, he is arguing for it, but he’s setting them. He’s setting them up.

He’s setting them up for a conclusion they don’t want because he’s taken the logic of their argument and decimate. It turned around with the only other alternative, which is God’s the one behind it. And the logical conclusion of God being behind it is I am the son of David. Notice what he said. He said, if I cast out demons by the spirit of God,

surely the kingdom of God, which was a prophecy of old Testament, prophets concerning the Messiah and the one who would sit on the throne in David’s place. The son of David He’s Now forced them into a conclusion that says, if we say it’s from God, then we say he must be Messiah. Do you remember Number what he did with the Pharisees?

When they said by whose authority do you do these things? And he says, I’ll answer your question. If you answer mine first, The Baptism of John from whence, did it come from heaven or from men. And they reasoned within themselves. If we say it was from heaven, then he’ll question us why we didn’t know Bay it. If we say it’s for men,

we fear the people because everyone believes John to have been a prophet, the prophet. And so they say, we cannot say, what’s he done? He’s put them in a logical position where an illogical argument, where they have no other alternatives, they can either admit what is obviously true. Or they can lie and get in trouble. They won’t lie about their sons.

They’ll lie about him, but they won’t lie about their sons. So now they have no other recourse. But to admit that he is exactly who they don’t want to claim he is, Okay. So then we read Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods? Unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.

He who is not with me is against me. And he who does not gather with me, scatters abroad. Jesus. Now not only defies their argument about him using the power of Satan, but he goes so far in the other direction to say, I’m the standard Either. You’re with me or you’re not with God. Now, the Pharisees would never make that argument.

The Pharisees wouldn’t go so far as to say that the Pharisees would, would, would castigate someone who didn’t agree with them. The Pharisees didn’t like those who oppose them, but the Pharisees would not go so far as to claim that they held the position of God, But Jesus did. And so now he says, okay, if you’re working against me,

then that puts you all right. And I watch the logic. Well swing. He said, Satan, won’t cast out Satan And your sons cast out demons. Therefore, if they’re doing it by the power of God, so am I, therefore I’m doing it by the power of God. Therefore the kingdom of God is come. Therefore I am the Messiah.

And therefore, if you oppose me, you’re back on The other team, he just put them on Satan’s team. All without saying all of that specifically, he did it through the logical arguments that he made to defeat there’s place himself, where he belongs and then show them for what they were. Okay. Okay. Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men,

but the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven. Men. Anyone who speaks a word against the son of man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the age to come either, make the tree good or end its fruit good or else make the tree bad.

And its fruit bad for a tree is known by Fruit. Having set up this situation, having given this argument, he now sets forward that they have a problem because they’re entering a situation where they can, can and are going to condemn themselves. They’re Going to look at the miracles of the Holy spirit and they’re going to claim those came from Satan. And then he says,

I tell you what, let’s just do it This way. The one who produces good fruit, he is a good tree. I Am the one that produces evil. Fruit Is an evil tree. Now, which one are you? He’s laid forth a where Their deeds and their actions and their words judged them. And the people can look at the miracles and say,

that’s not from Satan. They can look at the words of Christ and say, those were the words of God. They can look at the deeds of Christ and say, he’s doing what God said. And they can look at the Pharisees and go, that’s not it. And then they can choose between the two, but he’ll even go one step further.

He’ll say verse 34 brood of Vipers. What’s that mean? You pit of snakes, you family of serpents. How can you notice this phrase? Being evil, speak good things. How do you think they took that About as well as anybody who’s who’s public, public individual. Who’s just been called a family of serpents. You got it. Okay. So he calls them a brood of Vipers.

He says, how can you being able to speak good things? He says for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. He goes back behind all of their accusations and all of their conniving and all of their deceiving and all of their, their attempts to set him up and to get him to say something and get him to do wrong and get him to heal on the Sabbath.

And he says, the problem you have is your evil. You remember John chapter eight, John chapter eight, Jesus said, you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. And the Jews responded. We’ve never been in bondage. What are you talking about? And then Jesus accuses them a few verses later of the being of their father,

because their father was a liar from the beginning. And they were just like him and accuses them of being the children of Satan. And yet they would say, no, no, no, no. We’re the descendants of Abraham. We’re the chosen people. We’re the people of God. We’re, we’re the, we’re the most religious out of the people of God.

What are you talking about? And Jesus said, no, you’re not. You’re a family of liars<inaudible> And they would go so far as to knowingly state that the power of God was the power of Satan.<inaudible> Verse 35, a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. And an evil man out of the evil is your brings forth evil things.

But I say to you that for every idle word, men may speak, they will give account in the day of judgment for, by your words, you will be justified. And by your words, you will be condemn. Jesus lays on them, the responsibility of their own words. When we get to a mindset that says the ends justify the means.

So I’m going to just change the story a little bit because in the end, everybody will be better for it. I’m going to just manipulate the story a little bit. I’m just going to tell it this way so that in the end, everybody goes along their Merry way. I would call this the Andy Griffith style of truth, Where As long as we just lie a little bit and don’t get caught everybody in the,

and we’ll be better off. And Jesus says, by your words, not your outcomes. Interestingly, you know, when God told the prophets in the old Testament, I want a man who will stand in the gap. I am looking for a prophet who will stand up and speak the truth. He didn’t say, and I’ll judge you based upon how successful you are in changing people’s minds.

When God told Jeremiah that he was going to go out and he was going to preach, share mine as a young man, when he begins his days of prophecy, God tells him I’m going to send you out and I’m going to send you to this people and they’re going to reject you and they’re going to hate you. And they’re going to imprison you and they’re not going to believe you.

And you’re going to go speak anyway.<inaudible> God, let Jeremiah know. I’ll judge you by whether or not you say what I tell you to say not I’ll judge you by whether or not they’ll hear what I tell you to say. And the Pharisees had flipped it around. The Pharisees, wanted themselves to be judged by how many people followed them by how many people listened to them,

by how many people did what they said and, and observed the laws and the traditions that they taught them. And Jesus said, no, you’ll be judged by your words, not by your outcomes. And every day we need to be reminded. That’s still true. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered that, Hey, they can’t let him just,

just say that teacher. We want to see a sign from you. Oh, the audacity, What were they? What, what, what had they just witnessed that they had responded to the people who saw a man who had a demon who was blind and who could not speak. And now he can see, and now he can speak. And the people see it.

They’re amazed. They think this is the son of David. The Pharisees response is he’s doing this by the power of Satan. And then he goes through all of this and their response is, will show us a sign, But I didn’t know any better. I think they were part of the media. It’s just, W w You know, I, my reaction would be where were you?

Five minutes ago? Thankfully, I’m not Jesus Verse. They, I was waiting for somebody to amen, verse 39, but he answered and said to them and evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign. And no sign will be given it except the sign of the prophet. Jonah. Here’s an interesting thing. The people of Nineveh back in Jonah’s day.

So go back in your mind to the book of Jonah. God tells Jonah a prophet in Israel, you go to Nineveh and you do what convert them. Well, he gave him an eight word sermon. You go tell them this. And Jonah did what He got on a boat and started going. The other direction. Nineveh at the time was beginning to come to its power,

but it wasn’t there yet. This was still a hundred years before the Assyrians Nineveh being their capital would destroy the Northern kingdom of Israel. They’re not, they’re not the world power that they would be later, but they’re, they’re starting to come to power. And one of the things they’re known for is their ruthlessness, their evil in their atrocities. They would commit whenever they’d go attack someone and God tells Jonah,

you go tell them to repent, or I’m going to destroy. Jonah goes the other direction. We can surmise as to why. I think it’s pretty obvious in my opinion, that he does not want them to be saved. They’re a threat to Israel and they’re not Israelites. They’re not the people of God. So why should he go save them? Matter of fact,

he’ll say as much in chapter four, when he’ll see God relent because they repented. And he’ll say, I knew it. I knew if they did what you said, you wouldn’t destroy him. So Jonah goes the other direction. God brings up a storm. God prepares a fish. Jonah gets thrown overboard. We know the story. He gets spit up on land.

And then he proceeds to go to Nineveh. Something to notice is all the artistic drawings we’ve ever seen in the children’s storybooks, where Nineveh’s right by the sea, where Jonah gets spat up Nineveh wasn’t by the sea. Nobody in Nineveh witnessed him being spit out of the ocean. He shows up like any other person who shows up at Nineveh, walking there on land and having arrived.

He begins to preach. Did they in Nineveh? See a sign? No. Okay. Jonah went to the city and Jonah began to preach. Jesus now has taken the scribes and the Pharisees. And he’s just said, you are less. The people of God, then Nineveh was in Jonah’s day. But he says, I’ll give you a sign. He says,

you wicked and adulterous generation, the ones who seek a sign. And by the way, they saw a sign, but they weren’t going to believe it. All right, that, that was the thing. The people of Nineveh, they didn’t well, show us, assign, show us, prove it to us. Deuce, call down something from heaven or,

or heal some button. They didn’t ask for that. And yet they repented from least to the greatest. So here, these Israelites are, and they’re saying, show us a sign. He says for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish. So will the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth,

the men of Nineveh will arise in judgment with this generation and condemn it. He said, we’ll believe that you do this by the power of God. Just do one more miracle. And Jesus said on the day of judgment, none of is going to rise up and they’re going to condemn you for the evil adulterous people About me. The only thing you could do to say an Israelite was worse than a brood of Vipers would be to say that Gentiles were better than them and would condemn them.

And that’s exactly what Jesus does. He says because they repented at the many great signs and wonders that Jonah performed, Right? No, They repented at the preaching of Jonah and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it for, she came from the end of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

Then Solomon performed great signs and wonders and miracles. He had the wisdom from God in judgment, but she came because she had heard of all the things that he did. And Jesus said, she’s going to rise up and condemn you because she having only heard the rumors believed it enough to travel all the way to Israel, to find out if the rumors were true and you won’t even admit they’re true.

When you see them. The queen of Shiva said, when she saw the wisdom of Solomon, she said the half has not even been told, having witnessed it for herself, but they would see the miracles and claim. It came from Satan. When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest and finds none.

Then he says, I will return to my house from which I came. And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits, more wicked than himself. And they enter into well they’re in the last state of man is worse than the first. So shall it be wicked generation?

Jesus uses the illustration of one who, as it were as demon possessed and demons cast out. But instead of doing anything good with the person’s life, they just continue on the way they were theirs. We don’t really know anything about how demon possession works. So we’re not going to try and make a whole lot of speculations. Other than this speculation, the demon came into an individual.

For some reason, maybe it had nothing to do with that individual’s choices. And maybe it did. It seems in this case, it did the person’s choices could have kept the demon from coming back, but he doesn’t make a good choice. Instead. He does nothing with the freedom he’s been granted and the demon returns fold. We can say that much.

We can also bring that forward to a more modern idea. Since we don’t have demon possession today, here’s a person whose life is filled with sin. They hear the truth. They hear the gospel. They repent of their sins. They’re converted to Christ. They’re immersed in water for the remission of their sins. They rise up to walk in newness of life.

All those past sins are gone. So they proceed to go into life now with a new life, with being a new creature, having no sin to their charge, but they don’t change their life. They don’t begin to instill in their life. Good things. They don’t begin to instill in their life righteous actions. They don’t begin to actually all Bey God,

they continue down a road of ambivalence. Do you think Satan’s going to let them stay on that road as his new Satan’s going to give them every opportunity to not only go back into sin, but to go deeper than they ever were before to make sure they never try and crawl out again. And that happens to people. And Jesus said, that’s the situation of this wicked generation.

Now I want to point out this is during the time when Jesus is popular, but what’s going to happen when Jesus starts giving them hard sayings, they’re going to turn on him. They’re going to depart from him. And they’re going to do exactly what Jesus is saying here. Verse 46, while he was still talking to the multitudes. Behold, his mother and brothers stood outside,

seeking to speak with him. Then one said to him, look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak with you. But he answered and said to the one who told him, who is my mother and who are my brothers. And he stretched out his hand toward his disciples and said, here are my mother and my brothers for whoever does the will of my father,

who is in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. At the time that Jesus spoke this, he has bred his brothers. His sisters were not believing as to who he was. It seems to be true that Mary believed who he was. But the majority of his family did not. They would later by all accounts, after his resurrection, they wouldn’t come to understand and believe who he was.

But Jesus said, my family are those who obey God. And a lot of Christians have had to make the choice in their own lives to say to their own family. My family are those who obey God, not necessarily those whose house I was born into. And it’s sad when that happens, but here’s the, here’s the reality behind that statement. Jesus is also letting his disciples know you’re going to have to turn against your family.

If you’re going to be obedient to God. Now, step right back to his statement, to the Pharisees about their sons. If those sons were going to be his disciples and going to follow him, who were they not going to get the support of their family? And so Jesus lays forth an example saying, you’re my family. If you do what I command you,

if you do the will of my father in heaven. But if you don’t, you’re no family of mine. Okay? So we’ll go through the questions and review those Wednesday night. Thank you for your attention. First of all, if as you came into the auditorium, if you didn’t pick up your Lord supper there and the table, as you walked through the door,

now’s a good time to do it. Go back and pick it up. And I’ll continue on with these announcements. If you’re visiting with us, we want you to know that you are indeed our honored guest. If you would pick up one of those colored cards in the Pew, in front of you and fill it out and either leave it on the Pew or hand it to one of us,

either way, it will be taken care of need to remember our sick. I was talking with Marie. Joan is really suffering with her migraine headaches. She’s had several in the past few days and she’s still losing weight. So for sure, keep Joan in your prayers. Dorothy Wilson still suffering from extremely high blood pressure. And as is her husband Rodale. I think his problems are mostly with arthritis,

but anyway, on a brighter note, it’s good to see Noah Olson back with us after having been down with the COVID-19 and in fact, Noah will be our song leader today. Now wait a minute. They switched. So yeah, no one is going to lead the lead. The songs, Elena sharp, Shelly stacks, mother has double pneumonia and is suffering from a Murcia sore in the back of head.

She is the picture I’ve seen is really, really severe. So keep her in your prayers. Barbara Diller is home recovering from rotator cuff procedure, and she’s still in a lot of pain. That arm has to be mobilized for a couple of weeks. And that’s got to be very, very uncomfortable and keep the Ken Phillip keep Ken Phillips in your prayers.

That’s a day old, a friend. He has COVID and he also has blood clots. He has a lot of serious problems. Keep these people in your prayers. Remember Francis Redmond, the loss of her daughter, Sandra this past. Well, it’s been a little over a week now, but she’s doing well. And I think under the circumstances, we’re not recovering,

but handling the situation very well. I have a card here from Rushmore posted on the bulletin board so y’all can read it. But a few days, this is from Louis. A few days ago, I spent 15. I sent 15,000 to get Guyana for nationwide workshops, TV programs, and literature distribution. Before that, I stand about twice as much to India for TV programs and literature,

you help make all of this possible. Thanks Louis. So some of our missionary work appears to be going very, very well today’s service. The song leader will be no Olsen. The opening prayer will be Michael Dale, Marjorie Phillips we’ll have the Lord’s supper. Aaron Cozort will have the sermon and Tommy Laster will have the closing prayer. Thank you all for your attendance.

Good morning. First song. This morning is going to be number 474 seven zero victory in Jesus. We will sing the first and third verses of 470. Let us think. I heard an old, old story. How a savior came from glory, how he gave his life on Calvary to save a wretch like me. I heard his groaning of his precious bla toning that Irie parented up my eyes and enzyme one<inaudible> Oh,

victory. Geez, smile, save. You know, for a river. He saw me and bought me with his reading and he loved me<inaudible> I knew him and I love his do him. He plunged me to victory being knee cleansing. FLA. I heard about a man, John. He is build for me and glory. And I heard about the street of gold beyond the<inaudible> about the angels sing and the old redone them Shannon’s story.

And some sweet day. I’ll sing there. Song of victim Ori. Oh, victory. Jeez. My savior for he saw me and bought me with his reading, blah. He loved me. I knew him and my is do, and he plunged me to victory. The knee cleansing flaw. Our next song is going to be number 604, six zero four.

He’ll sing all three verses. And then after which brother Michael Dale is going to lead us in opening for number 604. I want to be ready to meet him all three verses. Let us think. You may. I have your worldly pleasures, your silver and your gold. You may pile up all the riches that this old world can hold, but I’d rather have my save your and with him,

for least. And for, I want to be ready to meet him in the glory. Then I want to be ready to meet him. And then I want to be ready to meet him in the sky. Oh, I want to me more like him, man, do his blessed come and for, I want to be ready to meet him and the glory that you may talk about,

your riches, your diamonds and your pearls. You may gain the wealth for ages of this and all the worlds, but the savior is more precious with am. I’ll take my stand for, I want to be ready to meet him and the glory and I want to be ready to meet him by and by. I want to be ready to meet him in the sky.

Oh, I want to be more like him and do his blessed CTCA. And for, I want to be ready to meet him and the glory. And there is one thing I can boast of salvation from the fall I’m in air to well thing, glory. My father owns it all. That is why I’m shouting happy and go. He’s come. And for,

I want to be ready to meet him in the glory land. I want to be ready to meet him by and by. I want to be ready to meet him in the sky. Oh, I want to be more like as a man do is blessed man for, I want to be ready to meet him in the glory land. Please bear with me Our great and glorious father in heaven.

How Holy and awesome you are. We humbly bow before you as your servants. And we thank you so much for this time that we have to, and this opportunity that you give us to lift our voices and prayer to you and know that you hear us. We thank you Lord for this time that we have to worship you and songs and to listen to your word.

And we ask that we take what we hear today into our hearts and our minds. And we use it to further your work. At this time, father, we ask you that you be with all of those on our, on our prayer list. Those that have lost loved ones, be with them and comfort them and knowing where their, where their loved ones have gone.

And we ask that you be with those that on the number of those on our list that are sick and ailing. And if it be your will, we ask that you bring them back to us in a better health and let them be here to worship you with alongside us and Edify one another. And that at this time, Lord, we thank you so much for your son who died for us and that we are able to be with you one day in the sky.

We thank you so much for everything you’ve blessed us with and your son’s name. Amen. Long before the Lord’s supper, it’s going to be number 176, one 76, lamb of God, all three verses of one 76. And if you’re using the book, it says two verses, but on the slides, we’re going to go one, two and three.

One in the book is split in. Let’s just go off the slide. One 76 you’ll are only no sand to a time, but you have sent him from your sign to<inaudible> saw God and to be calm the lamb of God. Oh, lamb of God. Sweet lamb of God. I love the lamb of God. Oh, wash me and his precious blood.

My Jesus Christ. The lamb of God, your gift. They cruise as if they laughed and scorn him as he nine<inaudible> King, they named a frog God and sacrifice the lamb of God. Oh, lamb of God. Sweet lamb of God. I love the whole<inaudible> Oh, wash me and his precious blood. My Jesus Christ. The lamb of God.

I was so lost. I should have a side, but you have rot me to yours. To me.<inaudible> your staff and rod. And to be called the lamb of God. Oh, damn up. God sweet lamb of God. I love, Oh, the lamb of God. Oh, wash me and his precious blood. My Jesus Christ.

The lamb of God At, at this time, let’s remember the cross and the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sins. Let’s pray. Heavenly father. We’re thankful for this bread. It represents Jesus’ body. That was nailed to the cross for sins mankind, for him to follow you, please forgive us of our sins. Amen. As pray heavenly father,

we thank for this fruit of the vine, the represents Jesus blood that was shed on that terrible cross for our sins and pray heavenly father, you please forgive us of our sins. Amen. Separate from the Lord’s table. We have an opportunity to give us. We have prosper. That was great. Having a father with thankful for the financial gains you have given us through the years and we pray heavenly father you’ll accept a portion back to you so we can continue the work here at Collierville.

Amen. If you are using a Psalm book, if you want to go ahead and Mark number 909, there’s a fountain free will be the song and the invitation song before the lesson will be number 876 to Canaan’s land. I’m on my way, eight, seven, six, or excuse me. Eight, six, seven, my bad eight, six,

seven. We’ll sing the first, second and fourth verses of 867 to Canaan’s line. I’m on my way. Let us think To Kane Ann’s land. I’m on my way where the so never dies. My dark as night will turn today where the so never a guys. No,<inaudible> no.<inaudible> where<inaudible>. And so never Rose is blooming there for me where the so never dies.

And I will spin and turn where the so never a guys. No<inaudible> no<inaudible> guys were<inaudible> and so never guys. I am on my way to that fair land where the<inaudible>, where there will be no partying and where the so never no<inaudible> fair Wells. No,<inaudible> where<inaudible> and the so never cause it’s good to have no back Take your Bibles,

if you will. And open them to the book of Philippians, It’s good to have each and every one of you here this morning, especially those who are visiting with us, we are grateful for your presence and we hope you will be back every opportunity that you have. We’re also mindful of those who are still with us remotely and mindful, especially of,

of Ms. Francis at this time. And the things that she is going through. Please keep her in your prayers. There are passages in scripture where God encapsulates in a few words, A picture of what he wants. We have a phrase in our society that goes something along the lines of a picture’s worth a thousand words, but a good paragraph or couple of sentences can paint An amazing picture.

And God does that through the Penman, Paul, As he’s writing to the church at Philippa, and he writes to them there in chapter one and tells them exactly what God wants To see when he sees the church. And he paints a picture for us beginning in verse 27, going down through verse 31 or verse 30 of the picture of the church God wants.

And that picture is as accurate today as it was 2000 years ago, Paul writes to the church at<inaudible>. And as we go through this passage, we’ll examine each of these in turn, but I want to read the passage and I want to encapsulate or try to at least to the best of my abilities, The passage, and paint the picture for Olivia In chapter one,

verse 27. Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel and not in any way, terrified by your adversaries, which is to them, a proof of perdition,

but to you of salvation and That from God, for, to you, It has been granted on behalf of Christ. Not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me. And now here Is in me, allow me if you will, to take these verses And present them in their individual message,

break them down into a new thought. I thought that encapsulates what I think Paul is saying here, first and foremost, You see a unique message. And again, this is the picture of the church, a unique message, creating a unified people, standing together for a unified purpose, enduring a unified resistance for a unified reward For everyone who wanted to write that down,

let me go through it again. You have a unique message. Creating a unified piece Bull standing together for a unified purpose, Enduring a unified resistance For A unified reward. We’re going to break these down into three sections. Break this thought down into three sections. We begin in chapter one, verse 27. Paul says only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Paul calls upon the church and God calls upon the church to have a life, to have an existence, to have a conduct, a manner of life that is worthy of the gospel. God sends forth this good news, this message of the cross, this salvation that is proclaimed to the entire world and says, you set your life, your actions, your conduct,

your behavior in view of that. And you make sure your life is worthy of that. Now this is not what he’s saying. He is not saying you make sure and earn your salvation. I’ve laid the ground rules. Now go earn it. Now. That’s not what he’s saying. He’s saying God has called you to something amazing. He has called you to something unique that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the entire world.

The Hindus do not have a gospel message. The Muslims do not have a gospel message. The Chinese do not have a gospel message. They don’t, Oh God. Yes. In his wisdom and knowledge and foresight and manifest wisdom. As Paul describes it in Ephesians laid forth. The salvation that is offered in Jesus Christ by the church, through the blood of the lamb,

that is unique in all the world. And he called me, Calls his church to set their lives, their conduct, their actions, to be worthy of that call in first Corinthians chapter two first Corinthians chapter two, Paul writes to the church at Corinth and we will visit a few other passages, mainly in Corinthians as we go through the lesson this morning,

but keep your finger in, in Philippians because we will be back throughout our lesson. In first Corinthians chapter two, beginning in verse one, Paul writes to them and says, and I brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence that you speech or of wisdom declaring to you. The testimony of God for, I determined not to know anything among you,

except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear and in much trembling. And my speech in my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature yet,

not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing, but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory, but as it is written,

eye has not seen nor ear heard nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him, Paul, Right to these brethren and reminds them of the gospel he preached and the manner with which he preached it in verses one through five. He said, I did not preach it with excellence of speech. Paul was capable of preaching with excellence of excellence of speech,

but that’s not how he preached. He preached with planus. He says in verses six and seven, that it was not with the wisdom of the age. Paul knew the wisdom of the age. Paul could quote to those in Athens, their own philosophers. And yet that was not the message Paul preached. And he says the message he preached was not from the rulers of this age.

So many people will strive to be seen as those who are high and in accordance and in agreement with those who rule in the world as they’re alive. And Paul says, I don’t care who rules this world? And I don’t care about agreeing with them and I’m not going to spout what they spout. I’m going to preach the gospel. In first Corinthians chapter 15,

he goes on to say, moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel, which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand now, a whole lot of that verse ought to sound a whole lot like first or Philippians chapter one, verse 27. He’s called them to the gospel. He’s called them to that in which they are to stay in.

And he says by which also you are saved. If you hold fast, that word, which I preach to you, unless you believed in vain for, I delivered to you. And now he’s going to rehearse the, the, the central message of what he proclaimed. What is this unique gospel For? I delivered to you, first of all, that,

which I also received that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. So notice first and foremost, you have a Messiah who died. That was a unique message, But you have A Messiah who died in accordance with prophecies that had occurred hundreds of years before. That was a unique message. He says for Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he Rose again the third day,

according to the scriptures. Now notice you have a Messiah, a savior who comes, who lives, who dies, who does all of this in accordance with prophecies that have come hundreds of years in advance, but he doesn’t just die. He dies and is buried. And that seems to be the end. And everybody thinks it’s over his own disciples thought it was over Mary and the other Mary who came to the tomb,

thought it was over. They weren’t there to see the risen Christ. They were there to anoint a dead body. You see if it had been normal, if it had been like everything else, if it had not been unique, he’d have still been dead, But they can Came to the tomb and he wasn’t in the tomb. And the angel said,

why do you seek the living with the dead? And he Rose the third day in accordance with the scriptures. It’s one thing to prophesy about a Messiah coming. And it’s one thing to prophecy about the Messiah dying. It’s another thing to prophecy about the Messiah raising again from the dead Ed and that doesn’t exist anywhere else in history. And that he was seen by CFUs.

And Then by the 12, after that, he was seen by over 500 brethren at once of whom the greater part remained to the present, but some have fallen asleep. Paul reminds these Corinthian brethren, As he writes to them that Jesus wasn’t just seen by one person or two people or 12 people or 13 people, 14 people, but 500 plus people.

And he says, and most of them are still around. If you care to go to Jerusalem and meet them, You want to see someone who saw Christ. When he Rose from the dead, then go see them. The evidence is alive and walking around. After that, he was seen by James then by all the apostles. Then last of all,

he was seen by me also as one born out of due time. So Paul says there is a unique gospel dif From anything ever in humanity’s existence from then, until now, but that unique gospel create a unified people go back to verse 27 of Philippians, one Philippians one verse 27. Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see your maps,

and I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit notice, he says they are to stand fast. They are to hold firm. They are not to depart, not to move away, not to go their own direction, but to stand fast in the gospel message, same thing. He told the Corinthians, he said, the gospel I delivered to you and in which you stand and that they are to stand unified.

They are to stand with one spirit. They are to stand together, Striving together, Err, sorry. In one way, in one spirit with one mind striving together For the faith of the gospel Here, you have a unified people standing together for a unified Purpose. They are to be of one spirit they’re to be of one mind and they are to preach one message for one Purpose.

In first Corinthians chapter one, Paul again writes to Corinth as he He’s introducing his letter to them. And he says, in verse 10, now I plead with you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind.

And in the same judgment, he said the church, the church that Christ wants the church that Christ built the church that God wants is one that is unified in message in doctrine. And then action. But he’s going to let the Corinthians know that’s not the picture that they look like. If you were to hold up a picture of the church, God wants,

and then you were to hold up a picture of the church at Corinth. They wouldn’t overlap And they wouldn’t match. I remember when I was younger, before we had digital cameras and Cheap scanners and all sorts of crazy fun kids, stuff like that in the technology world we had what was called Transfer paper. And you could take something and you could put it underneath this paper and it was translucent.

You could see the outline something, and you could copy the outline of it. And we ruined a number of baseball cards this way. We wanted to create our own baseball card. So we would, we would transfer the outline of the card over onto another piece of paper. Guess what? Being Five or six year old that I was when I held it up and looked at the two after I was done,

they didn’t look that much. It wasn’t an exact copy. God wants his church to be a unified people standing together for a unified purpose. And that only happens when we have a unified Message. Philippians chapter Two, as Paul continues to write To these brethren, we read Chapter two, verse one. Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love,

if any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and mercy fulfill my joy by being like minded, having the same, love being one, a chord of one mind, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit or in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Paul calls upon these brethren who have a unified purpose. And the first purpose he lays before them is care for one, another humility of self and raising up of their brethren to care for them more than we care for ourselves. As a unifying people with a unified purpose, he wants them to preach the gospel, but he also wants them to care for one another.

He goes on in chapter three, chapter three, verse one. Finally, my brethren rejoice in the Lord for me to write the same thing to you is not tedious, but for you, it is safe, but where of dogs, but where of evil workers, but where of the mutilation for we are the circumcision who worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.

He wants him to be unified in purpose to preach the same message, but he also wants them to care for one another, but he also wants them to beware of false prophets. He wants them to be aware and cognizant that there are people who are teaching that, which is false and believing that the flesh is Enough And believing that they can teach that as long as you are happy,

as long as you are prosperous, as long as your flesh is gratified, you are fine. Nine Paul says no chapter four, Verse eight. He says, finally, brethren whatsoever. Things are true whatsoever. Things are noble whatsoever. Things are just whatsoever. Things are pure whatsoever. Things are lovely was where things are of good report. If there is any virtue.

And if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things, things which you have learned and receive and her Saul and see, or have seen in me, These do, And the God of peace will be with you. He wants these brethren to be unified in purpose, to preach the gospel. He wants them to be unified in care for one another.

He wants them to unified in opposition to false teachers and he wants them to do and teach You. Remember Jesus said in Matthew chapter seven, that the wise man and the foolish man were compared to one another. The wise man was the one who heard the sayings of Jesus and then did them. And the foolish man was the one who heard the sayings of Jesus and then did not do them.

And Paul doesn’t want the church to be a teaching church that doesn’t live its own Teaching. Yeah. So Paul calls upon these brethren to be unified in purpose to declare the gospel, to care for one another to beware of false prophets to do and teach the truth. But then also chapter four, verse 10 through verse 17, to support The gospel church.

If I was one of those churches that had, by what we read in this, in this letter, Ben continually sending Paul support to aid him in the work that he was doing in the missionary work that he was doing. And even at this time, while he is sitting in a Roman prison, They helped to sustain his life verse 10 of chapter four.

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at year care for me has flourished again, though. You surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Essentially what he’s saying there is you’ve been able to send funds to me, to help me in my situation. And I know you wanted to do it before, but you Couldn’t. This was a poor church,

not a rich one. He said you were okay Able to do this before. But then he says, not that I speak in regard to need for, I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to be a based, and I know how to abound elsewhere or excuse me, everywhere. In all things, I have learned both to be full and to be hungry,

both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well that you shared in my distress. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving. But you only for, even in Tesla, Nikah you send aid ones.

And again, four minuses, Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Paul says that the church that God wants is a church that’s unified in message. That cares for one another. That stands against false doctrine that is willing to put first the kingdom of heaven, but then is also going to teach and to preach And to support those who go Out to do the same.

That’s the picture of the church that Paul paints a unified people standing together for a unified purpose. And if Paul stopped there, maybe We could believe it’d be all sunshine and roses. If we did exactly that, but Paul didn’t stop there. Did he verse 28 Of chapter one? We remember that he said, and it not in any way, Terrified And not in any way,

terrified by your adversaries with them, a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, that is from God, verse 30, having the same conflict which you saw in me. And now here is in me. Paul sits in a Roman prison. Paul is sitting in prison for the gospel sake and he’s writing these brethren and says, do not be terrified by your adversaries.

Do not be held back, do not be held back by fear, do not be held back by their actions, do not be held back. Do not be terrified. We Are to be a unified people standing together for a unified purpose. Enduring a unified resistance Is everyone Who stands with Satan Resist the gospel. Every one who has said, I will hold allegiance to self,

to sin, to self-gratification and to want. And disobedience of God will oppose the gospel. No, Whether they will do it silently or whether they will do it vocally, they will oppose The gospel. And Paul wants these brethren to remember that that’s no excuse Verse three. We read, I thank my God. Upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine,

making requests for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day, until now being confident of this very thing that he, who has begun a good work in, you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ just as it is right. For me to think this, think this of you, because I have you in my heart in as much as both in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel,

you all are partakers with me of grace. Paul Paul Said, I’m in chains and bonds. I’m in prison. And yet you share in the same grace. I do. He wants them to know That though. Some people will look at persecution and claim that’s evidence. God’s not with you. Notice what he said here in verse 20 verse 28, he said,

which is to them, a proof of perdition. Have you ever heard the phrase? Well, that wouldn’t be happening to them. If they were the people Of God, They wouldn’t be persecuted the way they’re persecuted. If they were really who they claimed to be. Paul says that to the argument of the evil people. That’s the argument of the unbelievers that they see the church and they see it persecuted and they see it in prison and they see it under bondage.

And they see it going through these trials. When they see that’s proof of perdition of ungodliness. And he says, it’s not. He says, but to you Of salvation, Wait a minute, Paul, what are you saying? Paul is saying, when you are in prison and you are in chains and you are in bonds as I am, I am,

yes. Look at those chains and you don’t see that God is against you. You have evidence he’s for You. Oh, How, how does that work this way? Jesus said to his disciples before he left this earth, if they hated me, they’ll hate you. Also, If they’ve done this to me, they’ll do the same thing to you.

So Paul looked at his bonds and his chains and didn’t say, God, why have you forsaken me? He looked at his bonds and his chains and said, I’ve been granted Grace to preach the gospel, even in chains and in bonds, proof of salvation and that from God. But then there’s this last piece unified people. Let me go all the way back to the beginning.

A unique message. Creating a unified people, standing together for a unified purpose, enduring a unified resistance for a unified reward. Verse 29. Paul writes for, to you. It has been granted on behalf of Christ. Not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. Wait a minute air. Are you saying our reward is to suffer?

Nope. And yes, because When we share in his suffering, we’re told in scripture, we share in something else, turn over to second or Philippians chapter two, verse five, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ. Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,

taking the form of a bond servant and coming in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him the name, which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of those in heaven and those on earth and of those under the earth.

And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. The father Paul said that we have a unified purpose in, during a unified resistance for a unified reward because suffer with Christ. And then he said, and Christ suffered that God in turn might exalt Him. Philippians chapter two To verse 14, he says, do all things without complaining and disputing that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the world,

holding fast, the word of life so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labelled labored in vain. Yes. And if I am being poured out as a drink, offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all for the same reason. You also Glad and rejoice with me,

Paul, what do you have to be joyful for? What do you have to rejoice about your suffering, their suffering? Where’s the rejoicing Joy sing is in the reward. The salvation, when this life is over, see Paul could die in prison. As a matter of fact, in chapter one, he said I’m between as it were a rock and a hard place,

because my desire is this is over. My desire is to go home and be with the Lord. I’m in a straight between us two. I don’t know which to choose, but I know for yours Or sake, which one is going to be, Paul would leave that prison for a time. But based Upon what we know from history, wouldn’t be very Long and he’d be back.

And that time he’d never leave. But Paul realized what I read in verse 20 of chapter one, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing, I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness as always. So now, now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death, for me to live is Christ and to die Is gay unified people standing together for a unified purpose,

enduring a unified resistance for a unified reward. That’s the picture of the church that Christ wants, but it all begins with a unique message When our message stops being unique, not because there’s something to replace it, but because we’ve stopped Preaching it and we’ve stopped living it When we’ve watered it down and adulterated it to such an extent that it sounds like everybody else’s message.

It will never produce a unified people, striving Being together for a unified purpose, enduring a unified resistance because when the resistance come, the people who see a message that looks just like the one they’ve always believed, but has no resistance. Guess what they’ll do. They’ll leave that message behind and go to this other one where they’re not being opposed because it’s easier because it doesn’t have any cost attached to it because it doesn’t require anything.

It starts with a unique Message. Paul wrote to the church at Galatians and said he marveled that they were so soon removed From the grace of God that they received through the gospel to go into part two, another gospel, which he said is not another guy. He said, some of you have been deceived and you have departed from the grace of God,

The gins with a unique message Of a Christ who would come, who would die, but wouldn’t stay dead. Who would rise again on a third, on the third day, who would ascend up into heaven, who would sit at the right hand of God who would deliver his people from four? Or excuse me from San for salvation. Yeah. And if you’re outside of the body of Christ this morning,

you need to understand that Jesus Christ came to die. Yes. To save mankind, but to save them by redeeming and purchasing his Church whose body we are. If we hold fast, the doctrine that he left behind. But If we don’t, we are not Of his Jesus said in Matthew chapter 12, these are my brethren and my sisters and my mother,

those who do the will of my father, Who is in heaven. So if you’re outside the body of Christ this morning, you’re outside of the place where salvation is found, where grace is found, where hope is found, where mercy is found. You’re not a part of the people of God. And we don’t want that for you. We don’t want you to stay there.

We don’t want your hope to be damnation. We want your hope to be salvation. That’s found in Christ and found only in his body, which is the church you’re outside the body of Christ. You enter into salvation by hearing the word of God and believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God. You enter into salvation by repenting of your sins and having a change of mind.

That brings about a change of life to go. I’m not going to live that way anymore. I have to be unified with his people. I have to have conduct worthy of the gospel to confess the name of Christ and be immersed in water for the remission of your sins, buried in water, dying to sin, rising up a new creature and newness of life.

And then becoming a part of the church. Because in acts chapter two, we’re told that those who gladly received the word were added to the church by the Lord, based upon them being saved, they weren’t added to the church and then say they were saved and added to the church, but they didn’t join the church. God added to them, them to the church.

They became a part of the body when they had their sins washed away. And they did that when they were baptized, you’re outside the body of Christ this morning, don’t stay there because the picture of the church can be what the church really is. If you’re a member of the body of Christ and your actions in the church, don’t match the purpose,

the unified purpose of the church. Then they need to change. You need to come back, you need to repent and you need to come home. If you have need of salvation, if you have need of repentance, if you have any need at all, why not come as we stand in, as we say, Hey, so Hey, Stu is spring is the founder from the us or,

and he bids Saul free. The dreaming well, you to the fountain free. Will you TIS for you and me thirsty?<inaudible> here. The welcome call, TIS a foul and Oh, and four also there’s a rock that’s flat pan. So is that<inaudible> is for you and me and his stream. I see. Let us, Hey, Angela,

will you to the fountain free, will you TIS for you and me thirsty? So here, the welcome call is found and hope. And for also closing song this morning is going to be number 711 seven one one blessed be the tie that binds or sing the first Bruce, this song, then we’ll have our closing prayer, 711 blessed be the title.

Listen, blessed<inaudible> of the fellowship of<inaudible> that Would you bow with me, God and father in heaven. We’re in date thankful for this beautiful first day of the week that you’ve given us and allowed us the freedom and the privilege to worship fi and sing praises to your name, father. We thank you for the great lessons that we’ve studied here today and pray that we can apply that to our lives,

to be better stewards of your word father. We’re also mindful of those of our number who are sick and have lost, loved ones. We pray father that you will comfort them is you only know how, by the way, pray that as we leave this building, that we will continue to strive to be that light to those around us and set that example and bring the loss to you,

father, we thank you for your son, Jesus, and that great sacrifice that was made. If I would pray, you’ll be with us and keep us safe and forgive us, our sins Christ’s name. We pray. Amen.<inaudible>.

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Who Is The Head Of Your Church?

In Admonition, Podcasts by Aaron Cozort

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:23

Description:

And now, Admonition.

Who’s the head of your church? I’m not talking about who stands up and preaches. I’m not talking about who’s the one whose name is listed as an elder. I’m talking about who’s the head of the church you claim to belong to. Because it could only be Christ, if it’s going to be right before God. We read in Ephesians chapter five,

for the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church and He is the Savior of the body. Is Christ the head of your church? For more from the Collierville church of Christ visit Collierville coc.org.

This is E T B N. Let the truth be told.


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This video is a production of Collierville Christian Radio, the Collierville church of Christ, and the Gospel Broadcasting Network.

Aaron Cozort is the preacher for the Collierville church of Christ.

The Collierville church of Christ meets on Sundays morning and afternoon at 575 Shelton Road, Collierville, TN 38017.
To learn more about the Collierville church of Christ, visit colliervillecoc.org

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Who Is The Head Of Your Church? – Admonition 330

In Admonition Podcast by Web Administrator

And now, Admonition.

 Who’s the head of your church? I’m not talking about who stands up and preaches. I’m not talking about who’s the one whose name is listed as an elder. I’m talking about who’s the head of the church you claim to belong to. Because it could only be Christ, if it’s going to be right before God. We read in Ephesians chapter five,

for the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church and He is the Savior of the body. Is Christ the head of your church? For more from the Collierville church of Christ visit Collierville coc.org. 

This is E T B N. Let the truth be told.

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What’s Wrong With Drinking? – Admonition 329

In Admonition Podcast by Web Administrator

And now, Admonition. 

What’s wrong with getting drunk? What’s wrong with just having a good time? One thing that I know is wrong with it is what we read in Ephesians chapter five. Ephesians chapter five, verse 17 and 18, therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is and do not be drunk with wine in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. 

Paul says that when you’re filled with alcohol, you can’t be filled with the Spirit of God. They don’t stay in the same place at the same time. Consider what you want to be filled with today. For more from the Collierville church of Christ, visit Collierville coc.org. 

This is E T B N. Let the truth be told.

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Submitting To One Another In The Fear Of God – Admonition 328

In Admonition Podcast by Web Administrator

And now, Admonition. 

What does it mean when Paul says in Ephesians chapter five verse 21, that we are to be submitting to one another in the fear of God? It means that we’re going to take our correct role and function inside that role, as God has told us to. He will use that example to talk about wives being submissive to husband. He will use that example to talk about children being submissive to parents and servants being submissive to masters.

But above all of it, he’s telling Christians and churches to be submissive to Christ. We need to think about how we are submitting today. For more from the Collierville church of Christ. Visit Collierville coc.org. 

This is E T B N. Let the truth be told.

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01-13-2021 – Live Stream Class Luke 7:36

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

Good evening. I think we’re on now. Are we on now? Okay. We are in Luke chapter seven. Turn me up just a little bit. It seems quiet. Okay. We are in Luke chapter seven. We’re going to begin at verse 36 this evening. So go ahead. Be turning over there. Let’s get started with a word of prayer,

our gracious heavenly father. We thank you for all that you do for us on a daily basis. We’re grateful for your care and your concern. We’re grateful for all of the many blessings that you shower upon us. We are mindful of all of the things in this life and all of the freedoms that we have in this country. That mean that we are so blessed to be where we are to live,

where we are, to have the freedom that we have to worship you to assemble together without fear of persecution. And we pray that that will continue to be case for many, many, many years to come. We pray for our country and the difficult time she’s going through. And we pray for its leadership at the local level and at the state level,

at the national level, that the choices they make will be beneficial for your kingdom and beneficial for those who are members and citizens of this country. And also those around the world. We ask that you forgive each and every one of us when we sin and fall short of your glory and are willing to repent of those things. And we pray that we might daily seek to become closer to you and live closer to you each and every day.

All this we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Luke chapter seven One to first of all, I guess I should start here. Oh, I know it should start here. I want to say thank you to Michael for filling in on short notice with the first part of Luke seven, just, just a reminder to everybody. If you don’t feel good,

don’t be here. And I didn’t feel good. I felt really bad and I feel much better now. And I’m glad for that. And thankfully it wasn’t COVID so chapter seven of Luke, one thing to remember as you’re dealing with Luke’s writing is unlike the book of acts where the things that Luke writes in the book of acts are in chronological order. He goes from the beginning of the time,

right after Jesus is, is resurrected. And he ascends back into heaven, goes from that point and goes not year by year there’s, there’s a number of jumps in there, but he goes progressively through the history of the early church. But in the book of Luke, he doesn’t do that. The, the history that he records in the book of Luke is more a history by an event and telling a,

a story for a particular reason or rehearsing a piece of information about Jesus’ life for a particular reason, because as Luke introduces at the beginning of the book, many other records of Jesus’ life have already been written, okay. His purpose is not to do what Matthew did and give an account of Jesus’ life from beginning to end. Instead, his goal was to give this particular Theopolis to whom he is writing a better understanding of Jesus’ taking the things that were already known,

had already been written, but delving more deeply into Jesus in other areas, in talking about other things. And so he takes events, not necessarily chronic low chronological order. They’ll those events may be covered in the other books in chronological order. He takes other events and brings them together to convey a message, to convey a thought to declare something. Of course,

all of this inspired by the Holy spirit. So there’s distance<inaudible> there’s there’s debate as to chapter seven 36 through verse 50, is this an event that occurs and happens in the second year of Jesus’ ministry connected to the prior part of the chapter prior part of the chapter and the events of it? Yeah. And everything we’re studying right now. And this,

this part of the material is all part of Jesus’s second year of his ministry. And some will discuss this section and go, well, it’s it belongs here. Yeah. Obviously the people who put together the material we’re going through Bible study guide for all ages believes that this, this belongs in this timeframe. That’s why we’ve jumped from the sermon on the Mount over into Luke is because this is all second year of Jesus’ ministry activities.

Okay. So they believe this is part of the second year, not a similar account. Also not Luke’s version of a similar account found in John and in Matthew about the woman who comes in in Bethany and annoyance Jesus. The week of his betrayal, I tend to disagree. I believe this is Luke’s account of that event placed here for Luke’s reason for it being here.

But if you agree differently as, as the people who wrote this material, do I’m fine with that. There’s, there’s nothing that holds it down to that level of specificity. But I think, again, my opinion that this and John 12 are the same event. If they’re not, then by all means that that is perfectly fine, but that’s just my opinion.

And the fact that it’s here and that is my opinion, gave me an opportunity to talk about the chronology of Luke as you’re reading through it. And you go, well, wait a minute, Matthew has that way over here. And Luke’s got it right up here. Don’t be confused, Luke, doesn’t write in chronological order. So that’s just all for that purpose.

So you understand that verse 36, then one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him. One of the Pharisees comes to Jesus and asked him to come and, and eat dinner with him, come to a feast, come and gather at his house. And he went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down to eat and behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner when she knew that Jesus out of the table in the Pharisee’s house,

brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil and stood at his feet behind him weeping. And she began to wash his feet with her tears and wipe them with the hair of her head. And she kissed his feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. And when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he spoke to himself saying this man, if he were a prophet,

would know who and what manner of woman this is, who is touching him for. She is a sinner. Okay. Couple of key things as we go through here, first and foremost, Jesus is invited into this man’s house house. In first century times when someone else is brought into your house, you were expected to not just feed them. It was part of the Jewish culture and part of the Jewish tradition that you would go above and beyond goes all the way back to the time of Abraham.

When Abraham had those who visited him and he not only went out and pled with them to come in and at with him and to stay with him and her allow him to give them some food before they traveled on, but he went above and beyond. He served them. He stood aside as they ate. He showed himself to be hospitable. In addition,

when you would have someone who was a teacher in your house, a rabbi, you were considered to have that much more responsibility to show them respect, to treat them with honor and to be hospitable. So as we get into this, one of the things that Jesus is going to draw into his response is the contrast of the act that the woman has versus the Pharisee.

The<inaudible> you think concerning the events are transpiring. If this is in the second year, as, as it’s been placed in the material, then the Pharisees at this time are watching Jesus. They are looking for opportunities to accuse him of wrongdoing. They are looking for opportunities to say he broke the law, he violated this or that thing over here, they’re looking for and paying close attention to anything that they could use to accuse him because he’s becoming popular.

You remember at the end of chapter seven of Matthew, one of the things we read over in Matthew chapter seven, and this is kind of one of those key indicators that Matthew puts in there verse 28. And so it was when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at his teaching for. He taught them as one having a 40 and not as the scribe,

there will be events that transpire in this timeframe where people will be sent to listen to Jesus and to accuse Jesus. And then we’ll come back and say, nobody ever taught like this man teaches that there will be the crowds and the people having an impression that this is not just another rabbi. And this is not just another scribe. And this is not just another one.

Like we’ve always known because remember saved John the Baptist. There had been no prophet in Israel from the time of Malakai until now. So John being the exclusion and what happened when John came on the scene,<inaudible> John went city to city teaching everywhere, right? No. Where did John go? He went out in the wilderness specifically where he went to the Jordan.

Why did he go there? It was wilderness. And there was much water. And what was he doing to the people? Baptizing them. For what reason?<inaudible> For repentance for the forgiveness of sins. So John stands as an anomaly to all the other teachers to begin with. Okay. John is his present bef prior to this time, and John has been out teaching and John has been drawing all Israel.

We’re told people from all Israel came to hear John and the only people he didn’t want to come were the Pharisees. When they showed up, he said, who called you? Who invited you? You brood of Vipers. You snakes. All right, John and the Pharisees didn’t get along. So they’ve already got one person that they don’t like, who’s on the scene.

And they’ve already got one person who they’re trying to get popularity and visibility diminished. And then after that, he says, no, no, no, no, no. John does. I’m not the one you’re looking for. I’m not the Messiah. I, I’m not the one to follow. I’m the one who’s here to point out the Messiah. And then he does exactly that.

He says behold, the lamb of God and points them to Jesus. While now they’ve gone from having one person who’s more popular than they are to two people who are more popular than they are. And that’s beginning to be a problem for the Pharisees and for the teachers. So all of this is kind of encapsulated in the attitude with which the Pharisee who invited to dinner,

didn’t show him the respect and the hospitality that was common and expected. Okay. This would have been as if you get invited over to dinner and the normal procedure is, Hey, take your coat off, leave your shoes at the door, have a comfortable seat. Dinner will be served. Come on, you know, come to the table, you sit this in this place.

This is where, where our guests at. You get all this attention when you come over to dinner at somebody’s house. And, and instead, the kind of the idea here is in modern terms, you’ll walk in. Nobody tells you where to put your coat. You’re just told to leave it on. You know, go sit over there. That’s the contrast of attitudes because the Pharisees are not happy with Jesus.

Now I’m going to throw in one tidbit here. That is important in my mind, if this passage is a parallel passage to John, John 12, okay. And that is verse 40. And Jesus answered and said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. So he said, teacher, say it. Now the Simon here is not CFUs.

It’s not, it’s not Simon. Peter, who is Simon. The Pharisee. Now go over to John chapter 12 real quick. And again, this is, if these are parallel passages, if I’ll leave it at that, it either they either are or aren’t. But if they are, this is a really, really interesting tidbit. Then six days before the Passover,

Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom he had raised from the dead there. They made him a supper and Martha served him. But Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spike, Nard, anointed, the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.

And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil, but one of his disciples, Judas, Iscariot, and I believe this is the only time in all of scripture where Judas, his father’s name has mentioned. What is Judas? His father’s name? Simon. They’re in the house of a Pharisee And his name is Simon. And by all indications,

if these are parallel passages, it is Judases fathers House. Okay. Okay. And a few days later. Yeah. Again, if they’re parallel passages, if, if this event is the same thing, it will be a few days later that Simon or sorry, Judas BARR, Simon, son of Simon will betray Jesus to the chief Breeze. So go back to Luke chapter seven.

Yes. So one of the things that we find out in a third passage is Mary is one who at one point was had demons. Okay. So if you take that, so we, we learned that in the third passage, if you take that and this, you put together the fact that while she was demon possessed, she was doing things that had categorized her as a sinner.

Okay. And her actions, which would not have been uncommon if someone was, was demon possessed were things that she would not have done. Had she not been possessed by a demon, but that doesn’t mean that anybody around her and certainly Pharisees would have treated her any differently. Having done those things, even though she was demon possessed. So that’s a tidbit that,

again, it’s in a third location, but we were specifically told that Mary was demon possessed, which by the way also gives you kind of that. Oh, that’s why Mary is so attached to Jesus every time in every passage that we read about her focus, her attention is always on Jesus. Well, if she had been demon possessed and he cast the demons out,

what do you think her reaction would be? What do you think her, you know, Martha might have some question about, you know, certain things and have her attention on other things, but not Mary Mary. And by the way, all right, let me throw this one thing in there. If Martha is one who believes Jesus to be the Messiah,

but has gone through life normally as just a Jew, who’s learning the truth. Who knows who Jesus is and is close to Jesus. But Mary was at one point demon possessed and doing things that she, that were sinful as a result of that, do you not have, as we’re about to read a sinner with a lower level degree of sin in,

in the sense of the story we’re about to get into and one with a great amount of sin. Okay. So these are all just interesting tidbits as we get into this story, Jesus is about to give, but one last thing. So yes, I believe if these are parallel passages, that it is Mary who’s described here as a center that she was before Jesus cast the demons out from her one who was living as a harlot,

because that’s kind of the indication of the text is this is a woman who was a, it’s not just a woman who sinned at some time in the past. This is a woman who is a sinner that would have been common vernacular for one who had been a hard one. Okay. So, okay. By the way, another reason why, if she had demons,

if those demons had been cast out, not only her whole family’s attachment to Jesus Lazarus, Mary Martha, all three, but also the reason why before the disciples have ever even gotten to the point where they realize he’s the Messiah there, they know that they have no doubts and yet the disciples are still questioning things. Also, why is Mary at the tomb of Jesus?

First thing in the morning, Sunday morning, it, all of these things are all tidbits of information. That line up perfectly, if this is the case. Okay? But one last thing that I wanted to mention from verse 39. Now, when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he spoke to himself. I want to, I want to point out something.

This response by Jesus is to an unstated Thought, okay, Much like it was the case. Back when Jesus was there in the house and the men climbed up on the roof and took the roof off and lowered the man in to be healed. And Jesus said, your sins are forgiven you and the Pharisees reasoned within themselves. How good can anyone, but God forgives sins.

And Jesus answers their argument out loud as if they had made it, but they never made it. Simon. Doesn’t say a word he’s watching. But he’s thinking if this man knew Who this person was, who’s touching him. He wouldn’t let her touch him To mind. Two things. Number one, the rabbis perspective towards women, most rabbis in the first century in that time period would not even speak to a woman in public would have no dialogue with a woman in public,

let alone allow a woman to touch them in public. Okay. Secondly, if you look at this from the Ferris scenic perspective of the legalism of a Pharisee, If a Woman has been involved in that, which is on godly sinful, if she’s a sinner, if she is unclean and anything, that’s unclean touches you, you become what on claim. And so the mindset is if he knew that this woman is a sinner,

if he knew the type of woman, this is, and that he as a rabbi would become unclean by her touching him, he’d never let her do it. Okay? All of these pieces are tied up into this context. And Jesus responds to this unstated thought to the thing that he stated to himself, but not out loud. Simon, I have something to say to you.

So he said, teacher say it, there was A certain creditor who had two debtors, one owed 500 denarii and the other 50. So what’s the, what’s the separation between the two, a multiple of what? Okay. One owed 500 and the other owed 50, a multiple of 10. All right. 10 X Separation between the two, one,

a huge debt and one, a smaller debt. But Jesus adds another factor. And when they had nothing with which to repay, okay, detail here that matters the man with the small debt smaller, could he repay the debt? No. Okay. He has a debt. He Can not pay. The other man has a much larger debt. Is he any more capable of paying?

No. You have two people, both of whom have a debt. They can’t Can not pay. Okay. That’s an incredibly important aspect of the story because we really, That at least in A regular sense, there is a difference between one sin and another. Not all sins are equal, right? Because if I say something mean to you, that’s on toward and unkind.

That’s sinful bloody. If I murder you Also sinful, but it’s not anywhere close to the same kind of sin. Isn’t we recognize there’s a difference. But For the one sin that I committed by being unkind and unthoughtful in my speech and in my statements towards you, do I have the ability to repay that sin and get, make it be forgiven by God can hold on.

Can I, by my actions alone, not through grace, not through mercy. Can I get, can I repay the debt of that sin? No. Okay. It is a debt. Any sin is a debt. I cannot pay on my own. Now here’s this great sin over here. I, I murdered you. Instead of saying something unkind to you,

I killed you. Is that a debt? I can pay no two different debts, but neither of them Can I repay on my own? Here’s a Pharisee. Do you think he knows that he’s sinned at any point in time in his life? Sure. Even Paul who’s the Pharisee of farracies in his Pharisaical upbringing knew that he couldn’t keep the law perfectly.

And he says as much in Romans chapter seven, with his mind, he desired to keep the law and yet failed to this Pharisee knows he’s not perfect, but in the mind of a Pharisee, he ain’t like that woman. He’s not a sinner. He’s just somebody who sin. That woman is a sinner. Now, do we see a problem with the thought process?

Careful, because sometimes we’re guilty of it. Sometimes we see a person sitting in the Pew doing the best they can, and it services every week. And, and being a person who’s reliant upon the grace of God and the forgiveness of God to cleanse their sins. And we think that’s a good person. And then we see someone out in the world who’s messed up,

trashed up and, and just in the gutter. And we think that’s a center. And sometimes in our mind, we forget the person sitting in the Pew is no more capable of paying for their own sins. Then that person is, We Need this reminder too, because sometimes we get the mindset that that person would hear the gospel and that person never would,

but that’s just simply not true because here’s the perfect example. Simon answered and said, I suppose the one whom he for gay more, did I reverse? I don’t think I finished verse 42. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely for gave them both tell me, therefore, which of them will love him more. Okay. So the one who has the,

the, the, the creditor who has two debtors, one, he forgives a great amount and an astronomical amount by way of, of that day on money. And this other one, he forgives a significant amount, but the point is neither one of them could have paid it. And he forgives them both. And Jesus wants to know from Simon, which one would love the creditor more,

the one to whom he forgave a small amount or the one to whom he four gave a great about. And Simon says, I suppose the one whom he four gave more. And he, Jesus said to him, Simon, you have right Leigh judged. Then he turned to the woman and said, now here’s a phrase for you. This is Luke.

This, this is, this is just, this is the epitome of Luke’s writing. He describes it with such eloquence. He turns to the woman Jesus does and speaks to Simon. Notice that he doesn’t speak speaking to the woman. He turns to the woman and said to Simon, do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet.

What did they commonly wear in that day in time, footwear sandals. And it was nice paved roads. And all of it was cleaned every night with a street sweeper, right? No, they walked on what kind of paths? Third, have you ever worn sandals and walked on a dirt path? What is the end result? Dirty feet. It was common when you came into a house to have someone there,

even a servant to wash the people’s feet as they came in. And yet Simon didn’t do that. He said, do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave me no kiss, the common greeting of the day,

but this woman has not seized to kiss my feet. Since the time I came in, you did not anoint my head with oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many are forgiven for, she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. Then he said to her,

your sins are forgiven.<inaudible> Is Jesus saying that this woman by her actions, by the deeds, which she did to him, the kindness she showed to him is Jesus saying that by her actions she’s earned her forgiveness. No. Okay. Jesus is setting a contrast between this woman’s actions and Simon’s actions. And while Simon views her as this great center,

She’s not okay. Oh, she may have been in the past, but she’s not. She’s a debtor whose debt has been paid. And as a result, she is showing by her actions. The love that she has for the one who paid the debt and Simon as one. Now let’s say you mentioned this one more time. If Simon is Judases father,

if he is, if it’s a parallel passage with John, with John, John 12, and if that text draw to draw those two things drawn together as proper, then the Simon know who Jesus is. Sure did. Peter’s mother-in-law know who Jesus was. Sure. Oh, by the way, if these two passages are parallel, who’s sitting right there too.

Hazaras is if this is a repair, if this is a parallel passage, does Ironman know who Jesus is? That evidence is sitting at the table. There’s a man who was dead and in the tomb for three days. And you sitting at the Table, Simon is not a fair ASEE who just ran into Jesus and invited him to dinner. Simon though,

is a Pharisee who is not treating Jesus with the respect. He would have treated any of the other Pharisee Teachers. And Jesus is allowing this woman’s actions to draw out that Simon’s actions towards God Are not what they should have been. Even if he was a sinner who only needed to be forgiven Little, he still wasn’t doing what he should’ve done. He wasn’t acting the way he should have acted then.

And those who sat at the table with him began to say for themselves, who is this who even forgives sins. So we’re not told, and this was by the way, this was common. Someone who’s prominent in the city has a big feast. Notable people are in the city. They get invited, but there’s, there’s more than that. There’s more than that around.

If this is again, John chapter 12, then the 12 disciples are there to Lazarus is there to Martha’s serving food. Mary’s there too. And probably others from the city. Maybe other acquaintances of Lazarus are there too. If not, we at least know that in this context alone, if this is a separate event, that there are others present. And again,

you get this perspective Who is this that can forgive sins. That is, Is such an anomaly because even the prophets didn’t Say such things, okay? You wouldn’t have Isaiah walking through the streets, telling someone your sins are forgiven. You okay? That, that just wasn’t going to happen. Why? Because that was a function of God. John would say repent and be baptized for the remission of sins,

but not, Hey, you come here. You’re forgiven. Okay, John, wasn’t doing that either. This is an anomaly and they’re seeing it as such. Then he said to the woman, so now he he’s the reaction of the people. The reaction of those present is who is this, that forgives sins. And he says to the woman, your faith Has saved you.

Not the crying, not the wiping, not the oil, not the cost of the oil, none of that, But her faith and always with Jesus. And even in the story, even In the example he provides, it is a faith tied Action. The one who’s forgiven, the greater debt. Does he, the creditor who forgave his debt more?

Yes. Then how would he show it by actions? And the whole story is an account of someone who showed no actions Of recognition And admiration and respect and honor and hospitality, and one You showed love instead. So chapter eight, Verse one, we read now it came to pass afterward that he went through every city and village preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.

And the 12 were with him and, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Mary called Magdalene out of whom had come seven demons and Joanna, the wife of Chusa Herod’s steward and Susanna, and many others who provided for him from their substances here. You’ve got a list of other who are involved in Jesus’ ministry by providing For him,

but they’re not the disciples. The disciples are traveling around with him. The disciples are going with him day in and day out. And someone is providing for them. Someone’s giving them money and food and, and stuff, Substance. And we find out that A nucleus of that, a nexus of that is A group of women. The people that the rabbis would have shunned Nord were the people who were Doing what needed to be done to keep Jesus and his disciples going throughout the city.

He’s teaching and preaching. So Just an interesting tidbit here in chapter eight, that here you have these women who are involved in all ways through, throughout the new Testament and throughout, especially Jesus’ ministry, you see women being Key characters, Key individuals in the life of Christ in the life of, and the existence of the church in the early first century.

Many times you have women who are described, who are doing incredible things and serving in incredible ways. And I dare say, there’s, if there are, Are any that I, that aren’t coming to mind, there are very few times in all of scripture and especially in the new Testament where any woman is spoken of in a negative sense, without there also being a husband or a man spoken of in a negative sense as well.

For instance, an and Safira, you know, they together are spoken of in a negative sense because of their negative deeds, but quite often you have these highlights of women and their actions in these texts. There’s chapter seven and chapter eight. Let’s go through the questions real quick. And then we will be done at whose house was Jesus eating. When the woman washed his feet with her tears,

Simon, the Pharisee, the Pharisee who invited Jesus, a washed his feet, be poured oil on his head. C kissed him, D fed him, fed him not true of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet was that she a was a faithful Jew, be anointed. His feet with perfume, see wet his feet with her tears, or di she wiped his feet with her hair.

Hey, she was not a faithful Jew. What did Jesus say had saved her, her faith? Isn’t it interesting. She’s she’s not described as a faithful Jewish she’s described as a center and yet it was her faith that saved her. Yes or no. Did the Pharisee thing that Jesus should let the sinful woman wash his feet? No. In Jesus story about the money lender who did or excuse me,

what did the money lender do about the two debtors who owed him money for gave them mode, which debtor loved the money lender more? The one who was forgiven the most, a person with many sins loves Jesus a little, or be much when he is forgiven of them be how were Jesus and the 12 apostles supported during Jesus’ ministry. All right. Women all the way up to those within the very house of Herod supported him in his and his disciples in their ministry.

Okay. Thank you for your attention. I don’t have too many announcements tonight, but I want to conduct a little bit of a survey with the congregation here about, about our mask wearing. So let me just run through this. First of all, welcome to the Collierville church of Christ Wednesday evening, worships, right? I’ll just call it a Bible study.

And I’m also a devotional are sick that we need to remember Rodale and Dorothy Wilson with their chronic problem. Dorothy, with her high blood pressure, Joan Springer is still suffering from the headaches that she has and also just being very, very weak. Janie Marlin is doing much better. In fact, she spent the night with Francis, I guess it was Friday night or Saturday,

Saturday night, Sunday night, Sunday night. Okay. And lucky Hanks thank is doing much better with his pacemaker. So these folks we really need to keep in our prayers. And also Noah Olson. He is recovering from COVID he’s the student that we are temporarily supporting over in the school of preaching. And I guess he is probably he’ll be back Sunday. Is he going to class?

Okay, so he’s doing better. Okay, great. And Barbara Dillard, we announced that she had a procedure on her shoulder. Her arm is still immobilized and she’s in a, quite a bit of pain with that. So need to keep Barbara in our prayers to what I was referring to about the mask there. As you know, there was a men’s business meeting Monday night,

and someone had suggested we bring the mask wearing up and consider the fact that everyone needed to perhaps wear a mask. And even while we were singing, we discussed that like noses, all of us have an opinion about that. And it’s Okay. A whole, every, like I say, everyone has an opinion and we all differ a little bit on that.

We have operated now for several months with the idea that if you’re not feeling well, don’t come to church and risk contaminating the whole church building with it. That may not be the smartest thing in the world, but there’s a lot of different ways. We can probably approach this continue as we are. This building will hold approximately 400 people and we rarely have more than 50 in attendance.

In fact, since this COVID has hit, I would dare say we’ve been over 40 maybe once or twice through the summer. But my point being, we got plenty of rooms, plenty of room to scatter out. And Eric has taken the time and trouble to put some little blue tape marks on the pews that are every other Pew, which gives us approximately the six feet that they recommend that we stay separated.

If we are uncomfortable with the distance, there’s nothing wrong with this moving four or five fuse up the way. And that will be taken care of. We Can wear a mask even while we’re singing. I think our singing is going to be a little bit hampered and I just want to get a reaction from, from the congregation here. What do you all think?

Does anybody have an idea?<inaudible> Well, if we’re going to chastise people singing, I probably need to stay home, but I hear you. I hear you on that. Any other, I know Eric has pretty strong feeling about this. He thinks we’ve operated. I think fine the way it is and the masks are not required.<inaudible> That is a very logical,

I do think that the cases are becoming more and more frequent here in Shelby County. And we’re probably getting to the point where we’re experiencing the peak in, in this Terry’s he’s had it. So he’s home free.<inaudible> Okay. Well, okay.<inaudible> But with that high percentage rate comes a greater possibility that you’re probably going to be exposed to it.

I guess what I’d like to see a show of hands. Terry has got a very logic to me. The times that we all violate the six foot clearance rule there is when we come through the four year and we’re coming to her seat, we stand a lot of times after the service is over and talk to one another and people have to squeeze by us because we,

the hall or the ILS here are made to talk in. Right. So anyway, could I see a show where the hands of people that think we ought to wear the mask the entire time we’re in the building? How about a show of the hands that we stay, where we are and just press on, well now let me count. This is going to be close.<inaudible> That was about 13 or so.

How about those that would feel like we ought to wear them as we come through the door, wear them to our seats, like Terry suggested, take the mask off, make sure we have the six foot separation other than within our own families and put them on. When we get up to exit the building, how many people feel that way? Anybody want to change your mind?<inaudible> Well,

I knew this was going to be kind of a, kind of a wishy-washy Morrissey thing to do, but I guess if it bothers you wear the mask<inaudible> Well, thank you for that, that input. I would like to kind of second that another thing that I really, really would like to express and how much everyone in the congregation here kind of does their share,

picks up their load and looks after the, for instance, with Francis, I think almost everyone in the congregation has at least called her or touch base with her to see if they could do anything. That really means a lot. And it means a lot to everybody watching as well. And just the daily administration of the church here, everyone is pretty well doing,

doing their job. And I do appreciate that. It sure does make the men’s oversight or what did they didn’t oversight. But the men’s trying to keep a lid on things so much easier when people are so cooperative. That’s all I have<inaudible> Later will be Michael Dale. Aaron has the devotional and Terry Sanderson has the closing prayer<inaudible> Because I didn’t get to hit you up before I wanted to ask all y’all for prayers.

One of my supporters and dear friends, he is 72 years old, found out Monday that he has COVID. He passed out on his living room floor and had to be rushed to the emergency room where he had emergency surgery to remove eight blood clots in his lungs and is now fighting for his life because of COVID in the hospital. So yeah, the blood clots were caused.

They said by COVID. So I don’t know how that works, but just keep him in your prayers. His wife is 74 and I don’t know what she’s going to do if she loses him. So they, they really need a lot of prayers right now. They’re their family. All right. Our song before the devotional will be number 560 living by faith five,

six. I care. Not today. Tomorrow may bring if shadow or sunshine or Ray and the Lord. I know, rule Thor, every thing. And all of my worry is living by faith. Hey Jesus, I’m trusting.<inaudible> I’m living by<inaudible>. Our Lord will return to this. There are some sweet hay or troubles. Well then I’ll be<inaudible> the masters.

So Jen Lee will lead us way beyond that. Blessed<inaudible> living by faith. Hey, in Jesus.<inaudible> in his great<inaudible> living by faith. Hey,<inaudible> he word, please? Mark song number 907 heart. The gentle voice. That’ll be the song Of invitation number nine, zero seven, Michael. What’s the name of that family? The Phillips family are the ones who he mentioned that are dealing with the husband in the hospital and the blood clots.

So keep the Phillips family in your mind. And in your prayers, Luke chapter five, we read beginning in verse 29, then Levi, who we also know as Matthew gave him a great feast in his own house. Jesus has called Matthew to be one of his disciples to follow him. And we read concerning Levi, Matthew getting up from his tax collector’s to follow Jesus.

So by all indications, he was a man of, of wealth. He at least has his own house and can’t afford to throw this great feast in Jesus’ honor. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them and their scribes and Pharisees complained against his disciples saying, why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?

They’re astounded That Jesus would sit down, would share a meal with wood fellowship, With tax collectors, Who were known to be thieves who were known to be dishonest, who were known as the worst. Not only because some of them were thieves, but because they worked with the wrong And government and centers, Jesus answered and said to them, those who are well,

have no need of the physician, but those who are Sick, Jesus said his reason for interacting with these people, these people who would have been shunned by the scribes would have been shunned by the Pharisees. Instead he interacts with them and he says, the reason is because sinners need A physician. Those who are sick, need a doctor. And that’s why He goes on to say,

I have not come to call the rights. Yes, but sinners to repentance, all of us are grateful when We have need of a physician. When we have need of, as some of us, at times a surgeon, we are all grateful to have access Says to such a person. And yet Jesus makes it clear. Sinners Above anyone who is sick with a physical disease,

even a life-threatening one, every sinner Needs a physician. Every sinner needs a savior Because while a disease might kill you, sin will dam you to an eternal hell. And so Jesus would set aside these peoples Past for their future and teach them How to be something they had never been before, not a keeper of the law, but one who was righteous and one who could have hope and trust and faith and grace through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Every one of us at some point in our lives will be one who is lost and needs a physician. If you’re in that condition tonight, the only physician who can heal you from sin is Jesus Christ. The only physician who can save your soul and change your destiny, eternally is Jesus Christ. So who is your doctor that can heal you from the real plague that persists in the life of humanity?

Because Christ is the only, and the good physician you have need of that salvation. Whether you’re outside the body of Christ and need to enter into it, having heard the word of the gospel and having believed that Jesus Christ is the son of God. You can repent of your sins. Change your course of life. Confess the name of Christ and be immersed in water for the remission of your sins.

Having those sins washed away, never to be held accountable to them again, and rise to walk in newness of life, living the life of a forgiven person. But if you’re a person who was forgiven in the past and you’ve walked away from that, and you’ve begun again to live in sin and serve on righteousness, you too can return a Christian who’s returned to sin,

can repent and seek the prayers of the church and repentive something that is public. And before given publicly, no matter your situation, as we all have care and concern about a virus that can kill a person. The greatest concern we have is sin and salvation. If you have need of the invitation, why not come now as we stand and as we sing,

Jen told boys 17<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for this time to come together as your children to study that word, we pray private. We will all be safe on my way home and be safe everywhere we go, keep her safe from the virus, or you pray that you would forgive us when we do wrong.

Where you thank you for the teachers here at Chi. Well, we pray that they will have a long and useful life in your service. We pray that you would be with those that are sick from the virus and others that have other illnesses in our congregation, pray that you would be with them and be with those that are taken care of them. Pray to keep us safe.

Do we meet again in crash name? We pray. Amen.

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In Everything? – Admonition 327

In Admonition Podcast by Web Administrator

And now admonition. 

If you’re a wife, do you have to submit to your husband? Well, the Bible says, yes. 

Well, the second question is, do you have to submit in everything? Ephesians chapter five, verse 24, therefore just as the church is subject to Christ. So let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. You only have to submit in all the same ways in which the church has to submit to Christ in everything For more from the Collierville church of Christ visit Colliervillecoc.org.

This is E T B N. Let the truth be told.

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Submitting To One Another In The Fear Of God

In Admonition, Podcasts by Aaron Cozort

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:21

Description:

And now, Admonition.

What does it mean when Paul says in Ephesians chapter five verse 21, that we are to be submitting to one another in the fear of God? It means that we’re going to take our correct role and function inside that role, as God has told us to. He will use that example to talk about wives being submissive to husband. He will use that example to talk about children being submissive to parents and servants being submissive to masters.

But above all of it, he’s telling Christians and churches to be submissive to Christ. We need to think about how we are submitting today. For more from the Collierville church of Christ. Visit Collierville coc.org.

This is E T B N. Let the truth be told.


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Aaron Cozort is the preacher for the Collierville church of Christ.

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01-10-2021 – Collierville Live Worship Stream (M. Dale)

In Live Streams, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible> Oh, my own. It’s hot. Let’s begin this morning with a prayer. Our father in heaven, how awesome and glorious you are. We thank you so much that we have this time to come together and study your word. And we ask that we glean as much as we can from it. So we are able to use it not only to further our own spirituality,

but to bring those that are lost you this time, Lord, we ask that you be with those that are out sick and, and dealing with multiple problems, those that are dealing with surgeries and with pain. And we ask that you be with the Cozort family, dealing with a sickness right now and help them to, to come to a complete health.

And, or we thank you for your son who died on that cross sends in your son’s name. Amen. Okay. So we’re doing Luke chapter seven. I believe it’s one through 35 and chapter seven, one through 35. And this First section of Luke chapter seven verses one through 10 is the healing of the Centurion service verse one. Now, when he had entered all his or when he had ended all his things and the audience of the people he entered into Capernaum,

it is good to note here that at this time, Palestine was under the control of Roman government and such being the case. It would not have been unusual to find a band of Roman soldiers in the area. It is possible that this incident is that this incident here in Luke seven, one through 10 is identical to that in Matthew chapter eight, verses five through 13,

there are some speculations that they’re two different stories, not stories that they’re two different historical accounts, but for the most part, people believe that this is identical to Matthew eight, five through 13 verse two, and a certain Centurion servant who was dear unto him, was sick and ready to die. A Centurion here. There are at least eight centurions mentioned in the new Testament.

And every one of them is spoken of in favorable light. And you never hear of a Centurion being spoken of in a bad light. He’s always someone that people look up to and does good things is also worthy of remark that in no case, is there the slightest hint that the profession of a soldier is unlawful in the sight of God. There’s nothing in the Bible that says there that a soul being a soldier is sin.

That it’s wrong. Servant here was the man who treated here was a man, the Centurion who treated his servant with dignity and human worth. He did not despise slaves as other Gentiles commonly did. He actually treated them nicely. My teacher, Bobby Bobby Ladelle, how this note, some uncommon words describe this unusual man. Luke says this interior slave was dear to him.

This is not something you hear about a slave very often that they are dear to their master. They’re just property For the most part. And the Roman slave system, such an affection for one, no more esteem than an animal or tool to be used, abused cast out or killed at the discretion of the slave owner was very common. So it was very uncommon to hear of a Centurion,

actually loving his slave and the slave being dear to him, verse three. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent him unto the elders of the Jews, besieging him, that he would come and heal. His servant. The elders were men of maturity who were leaders in the Jewish community. It would only be natural that this interior man would entrust such a responsibility on to mature men.

Those whom he could count on to seek out Jesus and then present his case to the one who could provide healing. And Matthew, the Matthew account of this, this is represented as a personal visit upon the principle that what one does by his agent, he does by himself. So he sent these elder men to find Jesus and ask him to heal his slave.

But it was like he was coming himself as what is what the text is representing Verse four. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this. The Jews pleaded the worthiness of this interior sin, but the Centurion declared his own unworthiness, declares his own own worthiness later. And we’ll see that truly greatness and humility go together.

Verse five for he loveth Our nation. And he has built a synagogue. This is why they’re saying that he is worthy of, of Jesus’s node. This in turn must have been somewhat wealthy in order to build a synagogue of his own accord, but that it said he loveth. Our nation indicates that his motives and building the edifice were not for selfish reasons.

He didn’t build it just to make sure that the Jews were at peace with him, that they weren’t going to fight with him or cause any problems where he was, he was taking charge of. He builds it because he actually loved the Jews. Truly we have before us a noble character worthy of great respect to this interior in Verse six, then Jesus Went with them.

And when he was now not far from the house, this intern sent friends to him saying unto him, Lord trouble, not thyself for, I am not worthy. That thou should enter under my roof. This entry and clearly has a great deal of humor. Humility. Humility is a prerequisite to reception of blessings from the almighty. It is a cure.

It is curious that this interior one would first and then seek to pro prohibit the Lord from coming under his roof. He came to the right person in the right way and came to Jesus humbly and respectfully telling them, I don’t even want you to come under my roof because I’m not worthy of you. Wherefore. Neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee,

but say in word, and my servant shall be healed. This is amazing. But say the word, the faith of this interaction is manifested in the words, which he spoke right there. Just say the word would that more men would trusts. So Implicitly and ESS and Simply besieged the Lord to simply say the word. That’s what we do in our prayer.

You just say it God. And I know that things are going to happen. The great tragedy Of our age is that men religiously speaking, no longer ask what God has the say on any other on any matter, we kind of just go about our day and we, we do what we need to do. And here we are seeing that. We need to ask God to say the word all the time.

We should constantly be in prayer asking about everything. If it is his will for, I also am a man said under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, go and he go with and to another come. And he cometh and to my servant do this. And he does it. The faith of this man was immeasurable. It was indeed great.

A greater miracle of healing can not be found without even seeing the suffering servant. Jesus restored him to Full health, complete health. Faith of this Centurion is complimented for the simple reason that this injury and recognized that Jesus was God in the flesh and needed, but speak the word for the man to be healed. He recognized that it’s just amazing that he a Gentile,

a Roman Centurion recognize this about G Jesus before his death and all of the amazing things that happen. Then This injury in place Jesus, on the throne of the universe, regarding him as the ruler of the world, and as having all Things under his command, he saw Him not merely as Messiah, but as God incarnate and there in lay the superiority of his faith to that of any of the Israelites,

not even any of the apostles at this present time had reached the lofty altitude on which the Gentile soldier stood. None of the apostles even had the, a grasp on the faith that this entry and had to just, you don’t even have to come to my home, just say it. And I know he’ll be healed. Verse nine, When Jesus heard these things,

he marveled at him and turned about and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith. No, not in Israel. Only one other time, as it said that Jesus marveled. And that was when he was rejected in his own country in Mark chapter six And verse six Here not found so great faith.

No, not in Israel. I remain for a Gentile to recognize the essential divinity of the power that could save at a distance. The very ones that should have recognized and received the savior were the very ones who failed in the test of faith. We can see a connection in John chapter one in verse 11 to this. So he came to save the Jews.

He did all these wondrous miracles in front of them. None of them recognized him as the Messiah, but this Roman Centurion Gentile recognize him as so powerful of the Messiah. He didn’t even have to come into his home. He just, but say the word and my servant will be saved. One of our teachers at MSOP Bobby Ladelle stated this, let us never conclude that greatness or weakness of faith is dependent upon race,

color, nationality, environment, social standing, power, wealth, or education. Neither is God’s mercy limited by the Verse 10. Yeah. And they that were sent and returning to the house, found the servant hole that had been sick, found the servant hole here. The miraculous cure for of Jesus were, were always complete An instantaneous. So it wasn’t like,

Oh, he was starting to get better. They came home. And this servant who was near death is able to get up and be a servant again, automatically completely. But this miracle is particularly significant and that none of the apostles or prophets of old for that matter ever restored health to a dying man without seeing the sufferer, having physical contact, or at least being in the presence of the one to be healed.

So that’s what makes this miracle extremely special. That’s why I said it’s one of the most special miracles. You’ll see, because this is the only account of a miracle where they didn’t, he, Jesus didn’t even have to be there. He just said, okay, your servants healed and he’s healed. And, and that’s what makes this miracle, just one of those amazing miracles.

Now we’re going Into the raising of the only son of the widow of Nane verses 11 through 17 Verse 11, And then came to pass that the day after that, he went into a city called Nene and many of his disciples went with him and much people. This miracle is recorded only by Luke. He’s the only one who records the miracle and the four gospels.

And this is the only reference to the city of Nene in the entire Bible. You never see a reference to name anywhere else in the new or old Testament. Rather, Edward Howard has this interesting observation. He said at the gate of this little city two, great precessions met in the lead one. And the lead of one was death. Her, her son was dying or dead.

And the lead of the second was life, which is Jesus, a meeting of death and life right here. And him was life. And the life was the light of men, John one, four It’s 12. Now, when he came nine to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out the only son of his mother.

And she was a widow and much people of the city was with her. One, procession was grief stricken for it was being led by the pale horse to the silent city of the dead, with great exaltation. The other procession was led by the living ward who only had immortality when life and death met. The battle was shortened decisive. Death fled from the Gates of the cities and my teacher,

Tom Wade caster Verse 13. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said unto her weep, not, it is rare in the gospels to find the expression the Lord used by itself. Jesus being Jesus, being the usual term. Usually you see Jesus here, but instead they use the word. The Lord saw her. The pulpit commentary suggests that the usage agrees with the unanimous tradition in the church,

respecting the authority ship authorship of this gospel. Neither Luke nor Paul had been with Jesus. These had always looked on Jesus thought of him as the Lord risen from the dead and throne in heaven. So Luke wasn’t there throughout Jesus’s ministry. He was made a disciple afterward. And so when he writes, he writes of knowing already that Jesus is the Lord instead of working with him through his ministry and knowing him as Jesus and eventually coming to that belief that he is the Lord.

He had compassion on her. The verse says, including this passage, the gospel accounts mentioned the fact that Jesus had compassion. Some of these being parallel accounts. And in each case he acted, we see Jesus had compassion and Matthew nine 36, 14, 14, 1530 to 2034 Mark, one 41, five 19 six 34 and eight two. It’s really refreshing to know that Jesus cares about us.

You can see that Jesus has compassion over and over and over again through the gut, throughout the gospels, the text weep, not Jesus singled out this woman and commanded her not to weep. Her son was dead. He commanded her not to weep. It was not possible at the moment for this bereaved widow to respond to such a command. However, the Lord never gave a command without supplying the power to obey it some say and do not,

but not our Lord James by inspiration condemns well-wishing without well-doing in James chapter two in verse 16. So Jesus didn’t, didn’t say weep not. And then just go on about your day. Jesus said, we’ve not because he was about to do something for this woman, verse 14. And he came and touched The bear buyer and they, That bear him stood still.

And he said, young men, I say unto thee arise to touch something associated with death, brought Sarah ceremonial defilement, which had to be removed by purification before entrance into a synagogue. The bearers must have wondered what would occur next because Jesus had touched something undefiled death here. The text young man, I say unto thee arise. The words spoken are similar to those spoken to the daughter of Jaris in Mark chapter five in verse 41.

When he healed jars, his daughter, And very similar there, The master with one solitary word, because the spirit of this young man, back from the secluded realm of the departed spirits to return to his earthly, Tim tabernacle, I say to the arise, one word, It isn’t, it is Spoken word of God almighty, which means contains the power to accomplish his divine will.

So it was with the Centurion of the world or this creation of the world. So it was with the raising of the dead. And so it is with the power contained in the gospel God’s power to save Romans one 16 and 17. It was also interesting to note the ease with which this miracle was performed. It wasn’t something difficult for Jesus to do.

We have witnessed some of the emotional hype that exists at some of the modern day healing sessions. I know I have a on occasion with some students at school watched like Hannah and all these nuts that are laying their hands on people. And you see them fly across the room and then they get up and they can walk perfectly and everything like that. And without a doubt,

the things which occur, there are nothing like that, which is recorded in the new Testament, a simple spoken word without fanfare or Austin Tanus gyrations. And this young lad Rose from the dead. So Jesus didn’t do all this crazy hype. You just said arise. And the boy arrived arose verse 15. Yeah. And he, that was dead, sat up and began to speak.

And he delivered him to his mother. The dead boys sat up and speak, but the record says nothing of what he spoke only Christ who had a bullish death has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Second Timothy one 10. If one would know about heaven, he must go to the words of Christ, not the words of one who supposedly died and returned with a fanciful tale of a journey to heaven of the seven occasions of the dead being raised in the biblical record.

Not one word, not one is recorded of there. Revealing anything about the afterlife. We never hear them say anything. Oh, there was a tunnel. There was a light, Oh, heaven was beautiful. You never see any of that in the scripture. Sure. We’re 16. And there Came a fear on all and they glorified God saying that a great prophet has risen up among us and that God has visited his people.

No prophet had visited Israel since the days of Malakai, the miracles, which Jesus performed would naturally produce this type of amazement and conclusion among those who were honest enough to accept the evidence at face value. How tragic that, excuse me, that the nation, as a whole represented by their spiritual and political leaders rejected the Lord in spite of the abundant evidence surrounding his ministry upon this earth,

they perceived of him as a prophet, but fell short of acknowledging him, Son of God, verse 17. And this rumor of him went For throughout all Judea and throughout all the region roundabout, there is no way for men to stretch their minds, to fully comprehend the impact of such a miracle as Jesus performed shocking the entire Eastern half of the Roman empire,

nor should it be left on notice that this miracle was rot within a few miles of Nazareth, whose city who citizens had refused to believe Jesus, not too long before this, this miracle was close enough that they could have, they could not have avoided knowing it happened. And thus Jesus gave his home village another chance to believe on him in whom they despised.

So Jesus had been rejected by Nazareth and this was close enough to Nazareth that they had another opportunity to see that he was the, The Third section here. Jesus is commending John, the Baptist verses 18 through 35. That’s reasonable Verses 18 through 20. And the disciples of John showed him of all these things. And John calling unto him, two of his disciples sent them to Jesus saying art thou he,

that should come or look we for another. When the men, when the men were coming to him, they said, John, the Baptist had sent us on to these saying art thou he, that should come or look we for another. He, that Should come as a reference to the anticipated Messiah. Just what the purpose for sending the disciples to Jesus is uncertain to viewers seem to exhaust the possibilities.

Either John sent the disciples to Jesus because of their wavering faith, or he sent them to Jesus because he had some doubts of his own as to whether Jesus was indeed the Messiah for EF promised before time Kaufman had this note, he’s a brother in Christ. John’s uncertainty is understandable. He had publicly identified Jesus as the Christ, but the Savior’s Messiah ship was not being proclaimed with a dogmatic certainty,

which John might’ve expected. It’s a possibility that John was thinking Jesus was going to be out there proclaiming that he was the Messiah. He was the King of the Jews. And, and that’s what John was expecting. And that hadn’t happened there. As a matter of fact, Jesus kept telling everybody to keep his identity a secret for a long time, we saw in the first year of his ministry,

therefore he did with his doubts. What every true believer in Christ should always do that is he brought them to Jesus who answered and relieve them. John was in prison at the time, his preaching had been rewarded with maltreatment at the hand of the religious and social authorities. It’s, it’s no wonder that he wanted answers to his doubts. He was in a bad place.

He was in a dark place being stuck in prison. And he, he wanted to know that everything he had worked for was coming to fruition in Christ verse 21. And in that same hour, he cured many of their infirmities in plagues and of evil spirits and unto many that were blind. He gave sight In response to John and response to John’s questions.

Jesus gives visible evidence that he is indeed the Messiah, the miracles, which he performed on this occasion should have served as an answer for these disciples on many that were blind and be stowed. He bestowed sight. The text says the Greek suggests that he kindly gave sight or he graciously gave sight. This is very characteristic of our Lord, not only the cure,

but the manner in which he performed it. And dear at him to those who were objects of his kindness and compassion Verse 22, then Jesus answering said, unto them, go your way and tell John what things you have seen and heard how the blind see the lame walk. The lepers are cleansed. The deaf hear the dead are raised to the poor.

The gospel is preached. The texts here to the poor. The gospel is preached. Jesus realized that John by his very nature would recognize the fulfillment of prophecy. When it was pointed out to him, seeing that these things must be done in fulfillment of prophecy. John would thereby curb his impatience and recognize that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah brother Ladelle stated again,

Christ had come not with the military might of an earthly kingdom, but with the mercy from heaven. So was fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 35, five through 10. Hm. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in him. Verse 23, Jesus stated the pulpit commentary calls attention to the tender way in which Jesus deals with the doubts that John May have had a warning was needed.

But it was given in the form of a beatitude, which is which it was still open to him to claim and make his own<inaudible> Verse 24. And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John. What went ye out into the wilderness for to see a Reed shaken with the wind Jesus, his testimony concerning John is one of those tender,

earnest and exquisitely, beautiful utterances of our Lord that shines brightly. A Reed shaken with the wind. John was not a no slender trifling character blown about by every doctrine. He was no delicate spiritual character merely amusing himself by turning himself into a preacher. He was more like the sturdy Oak, which can not be moved so easily. John was not a vacillating popularity,

seeker preaching. Only those things that fit fitted the popular mood, a weather vane type of preacher pointing in all directions like a Reed in the wind. He was sturdy. He’s stood fast in God’s word verses 25 through 27. But what ye out for to see a man clothed in soft, Raymond behold, they, which are gorgeously appareled and live delicately are in Kings courts.

But what went ye out for to see a prophet? Yay. I see unto you and much more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written behold. I send my messenger before they face, which shall prepare thy way before the, it is significant that Jesus changes slightly. The words found in Malakai chapter three in verse one, the old Testament prophet had actually written behold.

I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me. But in quoting the passage, Jesus says, behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which prepare the way before the, before the, the pulpit commentary States that States in the profits eyes, he, who was sending and he before whom the way was to be prepared. We’re one in the same person Jehovah.

So the one that was sending Jesus, the Lord, the one that was to be prepared, Jesus, the Lord hints the before me of Malakai, but the, but for Jesus who is speaking of himself and never confounds himself with the father, a distinction became necessary. That connection of Malakai and the words of Jesus has our Lord implying that he is in fact,

the divine God who so led Malakai to rot, right? The prophecy. So here in once in one quoting, adding just a couple of words, Jesus is not only quoting that the prophecy has been fulfilled, but that he is the one who gave the prophecy in the first place. Once again, Jesus is affirming his deity verse 28 for I see in to you among those that are born of women,

there is not a greater profit than John the Baptist, but he, that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he, none greater had arisen than John, his faithfulness, his character, his boldness and courage set him apart from those born of women. But Jesus was teaching his disciples. That one who enters the kingdom was in fact greater than John.

The greatness is not one of character, but of privileges and blessings. The lesson seems to be that if John was blessed of God, and obviously he was blessed of God, then those who have the wisdom to enter the kingdom will in a much greater fashion, be blessed as well. The words greater than he Men living this side of the cross are greater than John.

Only in the sense of the message they proclaim and the blessing which they enjoy. Even the most significant isolated child of God is greater than John. If for no other reason than the fact that the message which we proclaim is so far superior to the message, which John proclaimed, John proclaimed of the coming Christ, we proclaim the Christ has come and salvation is ours to be had verses 29 and 30.

And all the people that heard him and the publicans justified God being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves being not baptized of him. Those who rejected John’s baptism were not rejecting the winds of some eccentric man in the wilderness. They were in fact rejecting the very council of God as it, as it was was then.

So it is now those who reject the baptism of the new Testament do not reject some mere theory of men. They reject the counsel of God and his son, Jesus Christ, By rejecting Anything that has to do that comes from God. We are objecting, God verses 31 through 35. And the Lord said, where two then shall I liken the men of this generation?

And two, what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace and calling one to another and saying, we have piped unti, PIP piped unto you. And you have not danced. And we have more into you and you have not wept for John. The Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine. And you say he had a devil.

The son of man has come eating and drinking. And he say, behold, a gluttonous man and a wine. Bibber a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of all, All her children. This illustration would have been familiar to the people of this city. What Jesus has just said here, the marketplace was a place where children would play children.

Playing would invite their friends to play along as they piped and dance pretending to be at a wedding, but their friends refused to play along in turn. They would invite their friends to whale and weep as they pretended to be at a funeral. But again, they refused to play along the application, being that as these children could not be satisfied, no matter what the game.

So the Jews of that age would not be satisfied at the messengers sent to prepare the way for the coming kingdom. John came with his abstinence, his seclusion in the wilderness. They could not bear the man and even accused him of possessing a demon. Jesus came entering into homes of the publicans and sinners, eating with them and walking in the street Of the Jews.

These immature Jews, like the little Children would not accept him either. Neither motive life would satisfy them. They were as unreasonable as little children. And in fact, Jesus was saying, you men of this generation are like a troop of wayward children who go on with their own game at one time gate at another time grave and give heed to no one else and experience that everyone should conform to them.

As brother Wade caster. One of my teachers said that you were angry with John because he would not dance to your pit piping. And with me, because I will not weep to your dirge, John sensored, your<inaudible>. I rebuke your hypocrisy. You vilify both and reject the good counsel of God who has devised of men means for your salvation and wisdom is justified of all her children.

The wisdom said in this verse, these verses the wisdom revealed to John in this incident was actually manifested in life and doctrine of Christ. This verse simply means that Christ was approved and justified by all those who were truly they could see through the inconsistencies and foolish Ringlings of the farracies. All right. So I didn’t know I was supposed to stop there, but I’m supposed to stop there and we’ll go ahead and go through the questions now.<inaudible> Number one.

Why did this in Tyrian and Capernaum not come to Jesus himself concerning his dying slave. Excuse me. Yep. They felt unworthy. Correct? How did this interaction say that Jesus could heal the slave? Yeah, just by saying so just the power of his word. Jesus marveled at the Capernaum, centurions a home, be soldier skills, see obedient slaves or de faith.

Thanks. I like how they give you, like all these completely. That’s not the answer. And then they’re like, Oh, and D faith. Yeah. What was Jesus’s feeling for the widow of Dean whose son had died? Yes. He had compassion. What did the people of Nene say about Jesus after he raised the son of the widow?<inaudible> Yes.

And prophet was among them or God had visited his people. When the two messengers from John, the Baptist asked Jesus, are you the one who is coming? What was his reply?<inaudible> So in Jesus his own way, he said yes. Why? According to Jesus had the people gone out into the wilderness to see John the Baptist<inaudible> Yeah, they wanted,

they wanted to see for themselves if he was real, basically not a Reed shaken in the wind. And these people were dressed in fanciful clothes, going out there to see if this was actually the prophet, a prophet, the messenger to prepare the way for him. Was John the Baptist in the kingdom of God? No, he was before the kingdom of God.

Before the church who had been baptized with John’s baptism in Luke seven 29 through 30, Huh? Yes, sir. And who had not been baptized with John’s baptism, Pharisees, and Lord, you didn’t give anybody a chance to answer any of the questions you just did it all yourself. Very good. All right. I know we’re stopping a little bit early today,

but you got me and not Aaron, so I’m not, I’m trying to keep it down a little bit. Thank you very much. We’ll take a break and come for worship. We have a little church of Christ, Sunday morning, worship service. It’s great to see each of you here. I have a fair number of announcements. So bear with me this morning.

But first of all, I want to welcome our guest. If you’re visiting with us, we want you to know that you are our honored guest. And if you would please take a moment and pick up the card and the Pew in front of you and fill it out and hand it to one of us or just leave it on the Pew. And it will be picked up.

Also, as you came in the auditorium, I know all of the members are familiar with this, but the communion cups are on the table. As you walk through the doors, if you would pick up your bread and your wine, as it is displayed there and take it with you to your seat, if you haven’t done that yet, now’s a good time to go get it.

And while we’re going through the announcements we have, as I mentioned earlier, a fair number of members that are sick and under the weather, remember Joan Springer. She is doing a little bit better perhaps, and Dorothy Wilson. She still has problems with her blood pressure. And so on her grand daughter, Taylor Wilson and her ex daughter-in-law and her husband, and are all suffering from COVID.

So the family itself is, is pretty well down. Also remember Noah Olson, he’s the Memphis school of preaching student that is working with us here. He is out with yeah, Barbara Dillard is recovering from a rotator cuff procedure. And she’s certainly in a lot of pain from that. And I understand that is a very painful operation and she will be unable to move her arm for two weeks.

Now, I don’t know how they immobilize it, but it must be, must be very uncomfortable. Lucky Hanks is home and doing well from his procedure that he had and putting a place pacemaker in. And it seems to be, I’ve talked to him a couple of times and he seems to be doing much better and is honestly feeling better after having had the pacemaker,

Alena sharp, Shelly stacks, mother, I just talked with Shelly. She came in, she has double pneumonia and she also is suffering from Murcia, a very serious infection, and she’s holding her own, but not doing well. And Jake and Missy Sutton, they were ex church, Memphis school of preaching students. That kinda had a connection here. They visited often,

but both of those have COVID and they are working in Georgia now. So it need to keep them, and it of utmost importance to us is Aaron Cozort has a sinus infection. He doesn’t think it’s a COVID or anything like that, but just to be on the safe side. And he’s waiting to see how that develops. And he’s not with us today.

So need to keep all of these people in our prayers and hopefully we’ll get some relief from this COVID shortly. We need to also remember Francis Redmond. She lost her daughter, I guess it was Thursday night, early Friday morning. They found her body and car in the garage with the motor running. And she had left a note that she was on the way to Walgreens to get some medicine for.

She was having a lot of pain with her chest and just general pain. So the parent Frances founder, about four o’clock in the morning, we don’t know much about it, but at any rate, she passed away. And we don’t know whether it was from carbon monoxide poisoning or whether it was heart attack or what really happened. But we do know that she was headed for Walgreens to get some medicine.

And we don’t know what time of night that was, but carbon running for a good while in the garage with the door shut and the fumes. Well, Frances and she found her about four o’clock in the morning and called the paramedics or call nine one one. And the fire department came and took care of the situation. Francis ended up in the hospital for the biggest part of the day,

Friday to get the carbon monoxide Al of her system. So that’s all I know about that. So keep Francis in your prayers at the loss of her daughter, and she has fully recovered from her carbon monoxide poisoning. That’s all the announcements that I have. Our song leader today will be Jacob Wallace. We appreciate him coming and doing this on such a short notice.

Joe caisson will have the opening prayer. Tommy O’Neil will be officiating at our Lord’s supper. Michael Dale we’ll have our sermon and Murray Springer. We’ll have the closing prayer again. Thank you for your attendance. First song of worship. This morning will be number eight 69 we’re marching design come. We that love the Lord and<inaudible> join in a song with sweet corn.

Join in a song with sweet, a chord and a so around throw throw. And so around the throne were arching twos, a young beautiful<inaudible> beautiful city of God. Lactose reef used to sing who never God, but children of the heavenly King, but children of the heavenly King may speak their choice up broad may speak their choice. Bra God we’re botching juice,

Yon. Beautiful.<inaudible> beautiful city of God.<inaudible> songs about danda. Every tear be dry. We’re marching through and man Wells ground. We’re marching through him, man. UL’s ground to fam. Well, it’s hard to rope welds on high.<inaudible> beautiful.<inaudible> upward to a beautiful city. Our song before our first prayer, I’ll be number three 15 when I survey the wondrous cross.

Hm, wow. And I saw<inaudible> which<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> for<inaudible> save. And<inaudible> all the pain things that<inaudible> I sacrifice them to is see from his head. He, his hands, his feet saw arrow B go the such love. And so me needs<inaudible> so rich.<inaudible> where a whole<inaudible> that pres too small. So<inaudible> so the nine T mans.

My, so my life<inaudible> Out a smile. Oh God, our father in heaven, we truly are grateful unto thee for the privilege that we have as your children to come here and worship this day. Father we’re mine for the great love that was demonstrated through your son, coming to this earth and suffering and dying on the cross of Calvary, that we might have our sins cleansed and be able to become children of yours.

Father. We’re grateful for the Bible study period that we’ve had to come and be strengthened by your word. And we’re thankful for Michael and his ability to teach the class. We pray father that as we consider the things that we studied today, that our faith will be strengthened. It will have a better understanding of your will and that we might have the privilege to continue to serve you to the best of our ability.

We pray father that might always be mindful of those that are not members of your body. And that we pray that we might say or do something and be able to share your word with them, that they might come to them, knowledge of your wheel and want to buy it. We’re so grateful father that we can call your, our father, that we can be your children and have that peace of mine that we’re serving you and glorifying you.

And we pray. We continue to do that, that we might have that home and having with a one day father were mindful of all the sick that have been mentioned in those that have undergone procedures. For those that have the code virus, we pray father that you to be with all of these and pray for those that are administering to them, that they might do those things that are most needful to help restore them to their health father.

We’re also mindful of Francis and the loss of Sandy. We pray father that you be with her and comfort her and help us to be an encouragement to her through this difficult period of time that she has faced. We pray father specially for Aaron and for aid in the children and pray that Aaron might regain his health and would not have been inflicted by the COVID TRIBErs.

We pray father that you continue to bless them and watch over them. We pray father that you be with Michael is he’s about to break the bread of life to us today and pray that you continue to strengthen him as he goes to the school of preaching, that his ability to teach and preach your word might be increased and he’ll be effective servant in the kingdom.

We pray to be with his family and, and watch over them and pray that they might be blessed and that we, we would encourage them as we have that privilege and opportunity to be able to help them support them in this effort at the school of preaching, probably that you be with Noah is he’s try and recover from being exposed to the virus. And probably that he’ll be back with us soon and take up his place here.

We’re thankful for Jacob dear father, that he’s come to direct our songs service. We pray that you be with him in the, in the directing of our songs. And probably that we might listen a tenant to the, to the words that we saying that we might truly be praising thy name, and also being admonished in one another with the songs that we sing.

Father, we’re grateful for those that are teaching and preaching. In other lands, we pray for those that we support and pray that we might always keep them in our prayers. That many souls might hear the gospel and want to be obedient to it. Dear God, we pray that you be with our nation and the turmoil that she’s in, we pray that we will always stand up for the truth dear father,

and that we try to be the best examples we can be to those round about us, that they truly know that we’re your children, that we’re trying to follow your will and, and give you the honor and the glory and the praise help us to help those that are not your children. To be a more godly people, to not be an ungodly nation that we appear to be.

And we pray father that we have strength and courage that we continue to live our lives out in a way that would please and glorify you remind for those that are unfaithful father. And we pray that we might be able to encourage them in some form or fashion that they would know where they stand in your sight and would turn back to you and become fateful.

Children of yours. Bless us, our father and our worship today, we pray it will be acceptable. Help us always keep in mind your love and that we should extend that love to others. As we have that opportunity that we will be patient with one another and compassionate toward those that are having difficulties strengthen us each day and help us be strengthened by worship today.

And we pray that it be pleased you in Jesus name, amen For the Lord separate. We’ll be singing My love for cross course week number three 50, When my love to cry scrolls, we went for tea Fe dicey<inaudible> garden.<inaudible> that’d be how old is gunny suffered on the bit a tree C has a<inaudible> love TRIBE.<inaudible> then<inaudible> the journey.

All the, no, the pain<inaudible> and falls selves. Chris, We have this opportunity this morning to eat of this bread and drink of the cup. As we haven’t been commanded to do, to remember the death of Christ, our Lord and savior and the sacrifice that he made for all of mankind. Would you bow with me, Our heavenly father.

We thank you for this bread, which to us represents the body of our savior sacrificed for our sins. We asked, dear Lord did this. Each of us take of it that we want, think of the horrible death that he died, and that would my partake of it all on Berlin. Truly thankful manner. Yes. We ask him Christ name.

Amen. Would you bow with me? Our heavenly father, wicked 10 yard. Thanks for this fruit of the vine. Wait, Pray that as we partake of it, each one of us would think about the salvation that we might have through this Blood. We pray that we would take over dinner Manner that is pleasing and acceptable in my sight. So in Christ’s name,

we ask, Amen, your Bible with me, Our heavenly father. We thank you for all of the blessings that we receive in this life. We do not even realize how numerous they are. We thank you for the material blessings that we have in this country. We can look at other countries around us and see, I say that we truly are a blessed country.

We thank you for these blessings. As we prepared to return on the part of that, that we have been blessed with. We pray that we would do so with a cheerful, thankful heart. This we ask in Christ’s name. Amen.<inaudible> Our invitation song. After the lesson will be number nine, 15, number nine, one five, trust and obey.

We’ll sing that after the upcoming lesson, presently we’ll sing number five 65, 60 zero. Living by faith. I cannot today. What the Morrow may bring if shadow or sunshine or rain, the Lord, I know rule if thought ever be thing. And all of my worry is<inaudible> living by faith. Hey Jesus, trusting.<inaudible> hiding in his grade.<inaudible> I’m living by faith.

Hey, then feel Noah though. Tempus may blow and a storm cloud. So rise up scolding the brightness of LA live. I’m never alarmed that the overcast skies, the massive looks on at the straw living by faith. Hey, and she is also a trusting.<inaudible> hiding in his grave from<inaudible> I’m living by fear and feel. No. Well,

well we turn in his glory someday troubles. Well then I’ll be your, the masters. So gently, well Theda. So way beyond that last tab and Lee<inaudible> living by faith. Hey, Angie saw us up trusting<inaudible> from<inaudible>. I’m living by Faith. Hey, Banfield, Noah. Welcome to the Collierville church of Christ. Those of you that are visiting this morning,

I’m going to speak on the real test of discipleship. Our main text is going to be kept mostly in Mark chapter 10, verses one through 12. So if you’ll turn there, Mark chapter 10 verses one through 12, and we’re going to be reading that first and then getting into the lesson. And he arose from things and come at them to the coast of Judea by the farther side of Jordan and the people resort unto him again.

And he was not one. And he was want, he taught them again, as he was want. He taught them again. And the Pharisees came to him and asked him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife tempting him? And he answered and said unto them, what did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement and to put her away.

And Jesus answered and said unto them for the hardness of your heart. He wrote you this precept, but from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. And they Twain shall be one flesh. So then, so then they are no more Twain, but one flesh,

what, therefore God has joined together. Let not man put us under. And in the house, his disciples asked him again of the same matter. And he said unto them, whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another committed adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband and be married to another, she committed adultery. Does that sound a little loud to you sounds a little loud to me,

probably because both of them are on. You got it. It’s still on turn this one off. Sorry about that. As disciples, we need to ask ourselves, are we ready to face the tough questions in regards to others and ourselves as Christians, we are keenly aware that there are those who watch us only to see us fall. People will constantly just try to get a Christian to fall so they could say,

see, I told ya, at times these same people will set traps in order to snare us. Their reason for doing this is simple. They want an for not living as God has instructed here in Mark chapter 10, we have a similar situation. The Pharisees come to Jesus asking a question about his teaching and divorce on remarriage and remarriage teachings on divorce and remarriage.

Jesus explains what God’s will has always been for the marriage and those involved, but we cannot overlook that which takes place here. It is also a great test of real discipleship and not merely a discussion on divorce. This section of scripture can be broken down into two parts, the Pharisee’s question and purpose and Jesus’s question and answer. So let us consider the first part.

The farrier sees question and purpose. Once again, we find Jesus teaching in the temple back to verse one in Mark, chapter 10, Mark ten one. And he arose from thence and cometh into the coast of Judea by the farther side of Jordan and the people resort unto him again. And as he was want, he taught them again on this particular occasion,

some Pharisees come to Jesus asking a question of him, verse two, and the Pharisees came to him and asked him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife tempting him? Clearly they are asking about a divorce. The question they are asking is in reference to Deuteronomy chapter 24, verses one through four, do on me chapter 24. This is one<inaudible>.

When a man has taken a wife and married her and it come to pass that she finds no favor in his eyes because he had found some uncleanness in her. Then let him write her a bill of divorcement and give it in her hand and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be known and be another man’s wife.

And if the latter husband hate her and write her a bill of divorcement and give with it in her hand and sendeth her out of his house, or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife, her former husband, which sent her away may not take her again to be his wife. After that, she is defiled for that is abomination before the Lord and now shall not cause the land to sin,

which the Lord, thy God give it the foreign inheritance. Again. Clearly we’re speaking. The Pharisees are speaking of divorce here. There are some things we need to consider about this question that they asked Jesus. First at the time, this question is asked. There are two main schools of thought on the issue by the Jewish rabbis and the century before Jesus,

before Christ learned rabbi by the name of Hillel came to Jerusalem and soon became head of the chief school in the city. One of his students, she MII separated from his master and set up another school of teaching at the time of Jesus, his appearance, the scribes and doctors of the law were broken into two parties. The followers of Hillel and the followers of shamiah the teaching on divorce for each party.

We’re an opposition to one, another rabbi Hillel taught that divorce could happen for the smallest offense. Anything your wife or husband does anything well at this point in time, it was your wife. If your wife does anything that you do not like she doesn’t make her coffee, right? Give her a writ of divorce and get rid of her. But rabbi Shammai taught that divorce could only happen because of sexual unfaithfulness.

The way the question is worded makes it clear. They are speaking of the teachings of rabbi Hillel. Let’s turn to Matthew chapter 19 in verse three. This is the, this is the same talk, but in Matthew’s account, Matthew 19 in verse three,<inaudible> The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him and saying unto him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

So they’re asking about the teachings of Hillel here, because these are the teachings that they follow let’s consider the words of Josephus and his antiquities. Josephus was a writer back in the time of Christ, a Jewish historian, if you will. And what he States in his book is he that desires to be divorced from his wife for any cause whatsoever. And many such causes happen among men.

Many such causes. He says happened among men, whatever the cause is, like I said, she made her coffee wrong. You can get rid of her, let him in writing, give assurance that he will never use her as his wife anymore for, by this means she may be at Liberty to marry another husband. Although before this bill of divorce be given,

she is not to be permitted to do so, but if she be misused by him also, or if when he is dead, her first husband would marry her. Again. It shall not be lawful for her to return to him. Sounds a lot like Deuteronomy 24, one through four second. It is clear from the text why they are asking this specific question.

Let’s read Mark chapter 10 and verse two, again, Mark chapter 10 and verse two. And the furious seas came to him and asked him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? The question that clear intent, tempting him. They were tempting Christ. They are clearly not asking this to gain some spiritual insight or some spiritual truth.

They asked this to catch Jesus in a trap like politicians in the news media of today, the Pharisees want Jesus to go on record so they can have something to use against him. The trap is found in whom Jesus sides with. Now, if Jesus sides with says that the man can divorce for any cause he sides with rabbi Hillel and they would then claim Jesus was morally lax.

If Jesus’ sides says only for unfaithfulness, he sides with Shanghai, they will claim that Jesus is unfriendly to sinners or non forgiving. He also puts himself against the most popular view held by the wealthy. If he rejected, both the Pharisees could say, Jesus is against all divorce and thus violating Deuteronomy 24, one through four. What we read from Moses,

the Pharisees believed that they had a question by which they could bring harm to Jesus and his work from the time Jesus began teaching to this point in time here in the, in the texts that we’re reading in Mark chapter 10, there had always been a resistance toward him and his teaching. Every single time, the Pharisees of the scribes or the Sadducees are around.

They were trying to find something to trap Jesus in their goal was to hold their current belief system and get Jesus out of the picture because as they saw it, Jesus, his teachings were detrimental to their way of life. He was trying to get rid of all the old and bringing the new right, following the question of the Pharisees. Jesus now responds with a question of his own and an answer.

Let’s look at Jesus’s question and answer Mark chapter 10, three through 12. And we’re going to read through the whole thing again. I want this in everybody’s mind. And he answered and said unto them, what did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto them for the hardness of your heart.

He wrote you this precept, but from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. And they Twain shall be one flesh. So then they are no more Twain. That’s two but one flesh. What? Therefore God has joined together. Let no man put us under.

And in the house, his disciples asked him again of the same matter. And he said unto them, whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another committed adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband and be married to another, she committed adultery. Jesus begins by appealing to the law, which they claim to uphold. He is not appealing to one of their rabbis.

Current school of teachings. We see this in Mark chapter three, when he says, what did Moses command you? And verse four, the Pharisees correctly, state what? Deuteronomy 24 and verses one through four state. And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement and to put her away. But in verses in verse five, Jesus explains what Deuteronomy 24,

why Deuteronomy 24, one through four even existed. And Jesus answered and said unto them for the hardness of your heart. He wrote you this precept. It was because they had hard hearts. They couldn’t accept what God wanted. And so Moses suffered them to write a bill of divorcement. What Moses permitted did not change God’s will for marriage. Moses simply stated that if they were going to send their wives away,

as certificate of divorcement should be given and no way did this alter God’s original design for marriage or mean God was pleased with the action itself. And Moses never indicates and verses in chapter 24, that it was that God was okay with it. Or even that he was okay with it. The teachers of the law believe that Moses was giving them permission to divorce their wives.

But he was not since they had already determined to divorce their wives because of the hardness of their hearts. Moses said, write a certificate of divorce. When we get to verses six through nine, Jesus does something unexpected. Instead of addressing their question on divorce, he explains God’s will for marriage. Let’s read six through nine, again, Mark 10, six through nine.

But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. And they Twain shall be one flesh. So then they are no more Twain, but one flesh what? Therefore God has joined together. Let no man put us under, Excuse me. And understanding God’s will for marriage.

You understand God, you understand God’s view on divorce. And if the Pharisees really wanted to know God’s will for marriage, Deuteronomy 24 was not the place to look because it speaks of the hardness of their hearts because they were, they Moses suffered them. This let us consider what Jesus said about God’s plan for marriage. First God’s plan for marriage begin at the creation.

Jesus States this plainly and verse six, a from the beginning of the creation, he says his plan does not arrive on the scene. When Moses gives this wall and Deuteronomy 24, his plan has been there from the beginning of creation marriage from the beginning. Second God’s plan for marriage involves a male and a female. Again, Jesus States this in plain language.

Let’s read six again, but from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. This is how God created. Let’s turn to Genesis one 27, just put it in our minds. This is how God created. Let’s go back to the beginning. Genesis chapter one in verse 27. So God created man in his own image and the image of God created,

he him male and female created he them and context, male and female are used in reference to marriage because God had created male and female. His intentions were always for marriage to take place between the two, a male and a female. This would exclude any other parties from marrying period because this was looked down on as vial and unnatural turn to Romans chapter one verses 26 and 27,

Romans chapter one 26 and 27.<inaudible> Romans one 26 and 27 for this cause God gave them up to vile affections for even their women did change the natural use into that, which is against nature. And likewise also the men leaving the natural use of women. Natural use of women burned in their lust, one toward another men with men working that, which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error,

which was meat. This is vial. This is unnatural against nature. This is lust. This is unseemly. This is error. All God Jesus is saying here is it’s to be between a man and a woman, nothing else. Third God’s plan of marriage involves the creation of a family. No longer are we to be with our parents. Turn back to Mark chapter 10,

Mark chapter 10, and look at verse seven For this cause Shelly man, leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife. Excuse me Again, no longer with parents. We can see this back in the beginning, go back to Genesis chapter two and we’ll look at verse 22 through 24 Genesis two 22. God sets up how marriage is supposed to be Genesis two 22 through 24 And the rib,

which the Lord God had taken from man made he a woman and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife. And they shall be one flesh.

Cleave. Here is the idea of being glued together. They are glued together, whether that is stronger than glue that we can imagine because this is a spiritual glue. This is a closer relationship than one could ever fathom having with their father or their mother. Fourth God’s plan for marriage joins two until one. Jesus tells us this in Mark chapter 10 in verse eight,

let’s go back to our main texts in Mark chapter 10. If you’re not already there, Mark chapter 10 in verse eight and they Twain shall be one flesh. So then they are no more two, but one flesh. God, the father tells us this in Genesis chapter two 24, as we read earlier, it’s the exact same thing. The two shall be one flesh.

Jesus adds. So then they are no more Twain, but one flesh for emphasis. He wants us to understand when you are married, you become one, two becoming one involves both the mind and the body. This is not merely a sexual relationship. This is, This is completely Spiritual. Mental. You are one person. Fifth God’s plan for marriage does not permit man to break it.

No man is allowed to break this marriage. Mark chapter 10 in verse nine, Jesus says what? Therefore God has joined together. Let not man put Asunder. The figure here Is yoked together. And it is God who does the yoking. Now yoke is what they used to put on oxygen. When they were threshing the fields, they would have to oxen side by side in this double arch that they would put on top of the yolks next and hinge with another one double arch that came up and they would block it together.

So when the, when the oxen were threshing, when they were doing the field, they had to stay together. One couldn’t go off in either direction. They were pooled in the same direction because of this yoke. And this yoke is what God does to a man and a woman. When they get married, they become yoked together as such let no man put us under.

Jesus says Legon has joined together in his creation. No man has the right to separate no man, if he does. So he stands in direct opposition to God. Having said this in verse 11 and 12, Jesus explains what happens if God’s plan is not followed. Let’s read Mark 10, 11, and 12 Mark chapter 10, 11, and 12.

And he said unto them, whosoever Shall put away his wife and marry another committed adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband and be married to another, she committed adultery. Jesus says, if a man or woman divorces their meat and marries another, they are committing adultery. It’s plain language here. Moses permitted them to give a certificate of divorce,

but this did not change the result of them. Marrying another person. You can get divorced for any reason because of the hardness of your hearts. But that doesn’t mean you can go off and get married to somebody else. We need to consider one other part of Jesus’s answer, not found in Mark. Let us consider Matthew chapter 19 and verse nine, Matthew chapter 19 and verse nine.

And I say unto you whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication and shall marry another committed adultery and whoso Mary with her, which has put away death commit adultery. And let us also consider Matthew chapter five, go back to Matthew chapter five, verses 31 and 32, Matthew five 31 and 32. It has been said who’s so let him per a writing of divorcement.

But I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife saving for the cause of fornication. That is sex outside of the marriage, causes her to commit adultery and whosoever shall marry her. That is divorced, committed adultery here. Jesus makes it clear that God does not allow divorce and remarriage to take place. If, and only if adultery has taken place on the part of the mates,

this is the only reason the word except indicates the one exception. The exception is fornication adultery, that Greek porneia, this is every kind of unlawful sexual intercourse. Anything sexual that your mate does against you? The answer Jesus gave to the Pharisees question is not what they were looking for. Clearly the fact that they were trying to catch Jesus in a trap did not matter to him.

In fact, what was not going. In fact, he was not going to side with one of their schools of thought, just to avoid this confrontation with the Pharisees. He was clear under the law of Moses. They had no reason to divorce their wives unless fornication had taken place, but because of the hardness of their hearts, because they couldn’t put it in their mind.

He allowed them to give a writ of divorcement. And considering what has been said, although the issue is divorced and subsequently remarriage, there is a bigger issue at hand that pertains to all disciples. The problem Jesus faced here in this is the same one. Moses faced the hardness of their hearts. If we look at one other passage, I think this will be made clear.

Let us read Matthew chapter 19 verses 10 through 12 Matthew, 1910 through 12. His disciples say unto him. If the case, if the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry, but he said unto them, all men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given for. There are some units which were so born from their mother’s womb.

And there are some units which were made units of men and there’d be units which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven sake. He, that is able to receive it. Let him receive it as disciples. Are we ready to face the tough questions as Jesus did here in regards to others and ourselves, this is the real test of discipleship. Are you ready to go out and answer the tough questions?

What must I do to be saved first? You must hear the word of God, Romans 10 17, because it will lead you to faith. Second. You must believe that Jesus is the Christ. The son of the living God, John eight 24. So you will not die in your sins. Third, you must repent of your past life. As God has commanded acts 1730 fourth.

You must confess Jesus as the Christ, the son of the living God before man Matthew 10 32. If we wish to be confessed before God by Christ and heaven, fifth, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. Acts two 38. And finally you must live faithfully to God walking in the light. First, John one, six and seven until death to receive a crown of life revelation two 10.

Nobody is going to know this stuff unless we are willing to go out and teach it and to be able to go out and teach it. We must know it all ourselves. If you have yet to obey the waters of baptism already for you, or if you have need of prayers of the saints, we’re here for you, whatever your need, please come forward as Dan scene.<inaudible> way while we do his good will he abides with us still?

And we will trust and<inaudible> trust Stan Dalby for there’s no the way to be happy and jeez us, but to trust. And<inaudible> not a shadow can rise, not her cloud and sky rise, but his smile quickly drive<inaudible> wow. Are a fee here. Nada<inaudible> can abide while we trust that<inaudible> trust<inaudible> for. There’s no the way to be happy and jeez us,

but to trust. And<inaudible> then in fallow ships, we eat, we will say that his feet we’ll walk by his side in a way, what he says we will do where he sends. We will go never fear. Oh, the trust and<inaudible> trust<inaudible> for. There’s no a way to be happy and she saw us, but to trust.

And<inaudible> Our final song this morning before worship for closing, prayer will be number seven 38. Take the name of Jesus with you. Mm mm. Take that off Name of Jesus with you child off Sato and have also it well, joy and comfort.<inaudible> you take it then wherever you go. Precious name O house. We<inaudible> precious<inaudible> house.

We<inaudible><inaudible> Oh, the precious name of cheese, a us. How with thrills, our souls with your boy when his lobbying arm<inaudible> and his songs are tongues implore, precious name. Oh, house. We hope<inaudible><inaudible> house. We need hope about that.<inaudible> would you bow with me? Our God and our father in heaven. We’re thankful for this privilege that we’ve had this morning together together as a church and to sing praises to the,

and to offer into the worship without worthy Lord, we ask that you would forgive us of our sins, that we asked that you would be with us during this pandemic. Keep us safe from the virus that is there and pray for the people of the world father, that you would keep them safe from this virus, thankful that you’ve given us a vaccine that’s going to help.

We asked that you would be with us as we go to our respective homes and remember that every day of our lives, we’re supposed to be Christians. We’re supposed to behave ourselves in that way. These things we ask in Christ’s name. Amen.

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01-10-2021 – Live Stream Class – Luke 7:1-35 (M. Dale)

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible> Oh, my own. It’s hot. Let’s begin this morning with a prayer. Our father in heaven, how awesome and glorious you are. We thank you so much that we have this time to come together and study your word. And we ask that we glean as much as we can from it. So we are able to use it not only to further our own spirituality,

but to bring those that are lost you this time, Lord, we ask that you be with those that are out sick and, and dealing with multiple problems, those that are dealing with surgeries and with pain. And we ask that you be with the Cozort family, dealing with a sickness right now and help them to, to come to a complete health.

And, or we thank you for your son who died on that cross sends in your son’s name. Amen. Okay. So we’re doing Luke chapter seven. I believe it’s one through 35 and chapter seven, one through 35. And this First section of Luke chapter seven verses one through 10 is the healing of the Centurion service verse one. Now, when he had entered all his or when he had ended all his things and the audience of the people he entered into Capernaum,

it is good to note here that at this time, Palestine was under the control of Roman government and such being the case. It would not have been unusual to find a band of Roman soldiers in the area. It is possible that this incident is that this incident here in Luke seven, one through 10 is identical to that in Matthew chapter eight, verses five through 13,

there are some speculations that they’re two different stories, not stories that they’re two different historical accounts, but for the most part, people believe that this is identical to Matthew eight, five through 13 verse two, and a certain Centurion servant who was dear unto him, was sick and ready to die. A Centurion here. There are at least eight centurions mentioned in the new Testament.

And every one of them is spoken of in favorable light. And you never hear of a Centurion being spoken of in a bad light. He’s always someone that people look up to and does good things is also worthy of remark that in no case, is there the slightest hint that the profession of a soldier is unlawful in the sight of God. There’s nothing in the Bible that says there that a soul being a soldier is sin.

That it’s wrong. Servant here was the man who treated here was a man, the Centurion who treated his servant with dignity and human worth. He did not despise slaves as other Gentiles commonly did. He actually treated them nicely. My teacher, Bobby Bobby Ladelle, how this note, some uncommon words describe this unusual man. Luke says this interior slave was dear to him.

This is not something you hear about a slave very often that they are dear to their master. They’re just property For the most part. And the Roman slave system, such an affection for one, no more esteem than an animal or tool to be used, abused cast out or killed at the discretion of the slave owner was very common. So it was very uncommon to hear of a Centurion,

actually loving his slave and the slave being dear to him, verse three. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent him unto the elders of the Jews, besieging him, that he would come and heal. His servant. The elders were men of maturity who were leaders in the Jewish community. It would only be natural that this interior man would entrust such a responsibility on to mature men.

Those whom he could count on to seek out Jesus and then present his case to the one who could provide healing. And Matthew, the Matthew account of this, this is represented as a personal visit upon the principle that what one does by his agent, he does by himself. So he sent these elder men to find Jesus and ask him to heal his slave.

But it was like he was coming himself as what is what the text is representing Verse four. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this. The Jews pleaded the worthiness of this interior sin, but the Centurion declared his own unworthiness, declares his own own worthiness later. And we’ll see that truly greatness and humility go together.

Verse five for he loveth Our nation. And he has built a synagogue. This is why they’re saying that he is worthy of, of Jesus’s node. This in turn must have been somewhat wealthy in order to build a synagogue of his own accord, but that it said he loveth. Our nation indicates that his motives and building the edifice were not for selfish reasons.

He didn’t build it just to make sure that the Jews were at peace with him, that they weren’t going to fight with him or cause any problems where he was, he was taking charge of. He builds it because he actually loved the Jews. Truly we have before us a noble character worthy of great respect to this interior in Verse six, then Jesus Went with them.

And when he was now not far from the house, this intern sent friends to him saying unto him, Lord trouble, not thyself for, I am not worthy. That thou should enter under my roof. This entry and clearly has a great deal of humor. Humility. Humility is a prerequisite to reception of blessings from the almighty. It is a cure.

It is curious that this interior one would first and then seek to pro prohibit the Lord from coming under his roof. He came to the right person in the right way and came to Jesus humbly and respectfully telling them, I don’t even want you to come under my roof because I’m not worthy of you. Wherefore. Neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee,

but say in word, and my servant shall be healed. This is amazing. But say the word, the faith of this interaction is manifested in the words, which he spoke right there. Just say the word would that more men would trusts. So Implicitly and ESS and Simply besieged the Lord to simply say the word. That’s what we do in our prayer.

You just say it God. And I know that things are going to happen. The great tragedy Of our age is that men religiously speaking, no longer ask what God has the say on any other on any matter, we kind of just go about our day and we, we do what we need to do. And here we are seeing that. We need to ask God to say the word all the time.

We should constantly be in prayer asking about everything. If it is his will for, I also am a man said under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, go and he go with and to another come. And he cometh and to my servant do this. And he does it. The faith of this man was immeasurable. It was indeed great.

A greater miracle of healing can not be found without even seeing the suffering servant. Jesus restored him to Full health, complete health. Faith of this Centurion is complimented for the simple reason that this injury and recognized that Jesus was God in the flesh and needed, but speak the word for the man to be healed. He recognized that it’s just amazing that he a Gentile,

a Roman Centurion recognize this about G Jesus before his death and all of the amazing things that happen. Then This injury in place Jesus, on the throne of the universe, regarding him as the ruler of the world, and as having all Things under his command, he saw Him not merely as Messiah, but as God incarnate and there in lay the superiority of his faith to that of any of the Israelites,

not even any of the apostles at this present time had reached the lofty altitude on which the Gentile soldier stood. None of the apostles even had the, a grasp on the faith that this entry and had to just, you don’t even have to come to my home, just say it. And I know he’ll be healed. Verse nine, When Jesus heard these things,

he marveled at him and turned about and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith. No, not in Israel. Only one other time, as it said that Jesus marveled. And that was when he was rejected in his own country in Mark chapter six And verse six Here not found so great faith.

No, not in Israel. I remain for a Gentile to recognize the essential divinity of the power that could save at a distance. The very ones that should have recognized and received the savior were the very ones who failed in the test of faith. We can see a connection in John chapter one in verse 11 to this. So he came to save the Jews.

He did all these wondrous miracles in front of them. None of them recognized him as the Messiah, but this Roman Centurion Gentile recognize him as so powerful of the Messiah. He didn’t even have to come into his home. He just, but say the word and my servant will be saved. One of our teachers at MSOP Bobby Ladelle stated this, let us never conclude that greatness or weakness of faith is dependent upon race,

color, nationality, environment, social standing, power, wealth, or education. Neither is God’s mercy limited by the Verse 10. Yeah. And they that were sent and returning to the house, found the servant hole that had been sick, found the servant hole here. The miraculous cure for of Jesus were, were always complete An instantaneous. So it wasn’t like,

Oh, he was starting to get better. They came home. And this servant who was near death is able to get up and be a servant again, automatically completely. But this miracle is particularly significant and that none of the apostles or prophets of old for that matter ever restored health to a dying man without seeing the sufferer, having physical contact, or at least being in the presence of the one to be healed.

So that’s what makes this miracle extremely special. That’s why I said it’s one of the most special miracles. You’ll see, because this is the only account of a miracle where they didn’t, he, Jesus didn’t even have to be there. He just said, okay, your servants healed and he’s healed. And, and that’s what makes this miracle, just one of those amazing miracles.

Now we’re going Into the raising of the only son of the widow of Nane verses 11 through 17 Verse 11, And then came to pass that the day after that, he went into a city called Nene and many of his disciples went with him and much people. This miracle is recorded only by Luke. He’s the only one who records the miracle and the four gospels.

And this is the only reference to the city of Nene in the entire Bible. You never see a reference to name anywhere else in the new or old Testament. Rather, Edward Howard has this interesting observation. He said at the gate of this little city two, great precessions met in the lead one. And the lead of one was death. Her, her son was dying or dead.

And the lead of the second was life, which is Jesus, a meeting of death and life right here. And him was life. And the life was the light of men, John one, four It’s 12. Now, when he came nine to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out the only son of his mother.

And she was a widow and much people of the city was with her. One, procession was grief stricken for it was being led by the pale horse to the silent city of the dead, with great exaltation. The other procession was led by the living ward who only had immortality when life and death met. The battle was shortened decisive. Death fled from the Gates of the cities and my teacher,

Tom Wade caster Verse 13. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said unto her weep, not, it is rare in the gospels to find the expression the Lord used by itself. Jesus being Jesus, being the usual term. Usually you see Jesus here, but instead they use the word. The Lord saw her. The pulpit commentary suggests that the usage agrees with the unanimous tradition in the church,

respecting the authority ship authorship of this gospel. Neither Luke nor Paul had been with Jesus. These had always looked on Jesus thought of him as the Lord risen from the dead and throne in heaven. So Luke wasn’t there throughout Jesus’s ministry. He was made a disciple afterward. And so when he writes, he writes of knowing already that Jesus is the Lord instead of working with him through his ministry and knowing him as Jesus and eventually coming to that belief that he is the Lord.

He had compassion on her. The verse says, including this passage, the gospel accounts mentioned the fact that Jesus had compassion. Some of these being parallel accounts. And in each case he acted, we see Jesus had compassion and Matthew nine 36, 14, 14, 1530 to 2034 Mark, one 41, five 19 six 34 and eight two. It’s really refreshing to know that Jesus cares about us.

You can see that Jesus has compassion over and over and over again through the gut, throughout the gospels, the text weep, not Jesus singled out this woman and commanded her not to weep. Her son was dead. He commanded her not to weep. It was not possible at the moment for this bereaved widow to respond to such a command. However, the Lord never gave a command without supplying the power to obey it some say and do not,

but not our Lord James by inspiration condemns well-wishing without well-doing in James chapter two in verse 16. So Jesus didn’t, didn’t say weep not. And then just go on about your day. Jesus said, we’ve not because he was about to do something for this woman, verse 14. And he came and touched The bear buyer and they, That bear him stood still.

And he said, young men, I say unto thee arise to touch something associated with death, brought Sarah ceremonial defilement, which had to be removed by purification before entrance into a synagogue. The bearers must have wondered what would occur next because Jesus had touched something undefiled death here. The text young man, I say unto thee arise. The words spoken are similar to those spoken to the daughter of Jaris in Mark chapter five in verse 41.

When he healed jars, his daughter, And very similar there, The master with one solitary word, because the spirit of this young man, back from the secluded realm of the departed spirits to return to his earthly, Tim tabernacle, I say to the arise, one word, It isn’t, it is Spoken word of God almighty, which means contains the power to accomplish his divine will.

So it was with the Centurion of the world or this creation of the world. So it was with the raising of the dead. And so it is with the power contained in the gospel God’s power to save Romans one 16 and 17. It was also interesting to note the ease with which this miracle was performed. It wasn’t something difficult for Jesus to do.

We have witnessed some of the emotional hype that exists at some of the modern day healing sessions. I know I have a on occasion with some students at school watched like Hannah and all these nuts that are laying their hands on people. And you see them fly across the room and then they get up and they can walk perfectly and everything like that. And without a doubt,

the things which occur, there are nothing like that, which is recorded in the new Testament, a simple spoken word without fanfare or Austin Tanus gyrations. And this young lad Rose from the dead. So Jesus didn’t do all this crazy hype. You just said arise. And the boy arrived arose verse 15. Yeah. And he, that was dead, sat up and began to speak.

And he delivered him to his mother. The dead boys sat up and speak, but the record says nothing of what he spoke only Christ who had a bullish death has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Second Timothy one 10. If one would know about heaven, he must go to the words of Christ, not the words of one who supposedly died and returned with a fanciful tale of a journey to heaven of the seven occasions of the dead being raised in the biblical record.

Not one word, not one is recorded of there. Revealing anything about the afterlife. We never hear them say anything. Oh, there was a tunnel. There was a light, Oh, heaven was beautiful. You never see any of that in the scripture. Sure. We’re 16. And there Came a fear on all and they glorified God saying that a great prophet has risen up among us and that God has visited his people.

No prophet had visited Israel since the days of Malakai, the miracles, which Jesus performed would naturally produce this type of amazement and conclusion among those who were honest enough to accept the evidence at face value. How tragic that, excuse me, that the nation, as a whole represented by their spiritual and political leaders rejected the Lord in spite of the abundant evidence surrounding his ministry upon this earth,

they perceived of him as a prophet, but fell short of acknowledging him, Son of God, verse 17. And this rumor of him went For throughout all Judea and throughout all the region roundabout, there is no way for men to stretch their minds, to fully comprehend the impact of such a miracle as Jesus performed shocking the entire Eastern half of the Roman empire,

nor should it be left on notice that this miracle was rot within a few miles of Nazareth, whose city who citizens had refused to believe Jesus, not too long before this, this miracle was close enough that they could have, they could not have avoided knowing it happened. And thus Jesus gave his home village another chance to believe on him in whom they despised.

So Jesus had been rejected by Nazareth and this was close enough to Nazareth that they had another opportunity to see that he was the, The Third section here. Jesus is commending John, the Baptist verses 18 through 35. That’s reasonable Verses 18 through 20. And the disciples of John showed him of all these things. And John calling unto him, two of his disciples sent them to Jesus saying art thou he,

that should come or look we for another. When the men, when the men were coming to him, they said, John, the Baptist had sent us on to these saying art thou he, that should come or look we for another. He, that Should come as a reference to the anticipated Messiah. Just what the purpose for sending the disciples to Jesus is uncertain to viewers seem to exhaust the possibilities.

Either John sent the disciples to Jesus because of their wavering faith, or he sent them to Jesus because he had some doubts of his own as to whether Jesus was indeed the Messiah for EF promised before time Kaufman had this note, he’s a brother in Christ. John’s uncertainty is understandable. He had publicly identified Jesus as the Christ, but the Savior’s Messiah ship was not being proclaimed with a dogmatic certainty,

which John might’ve expected. It’s a possibility that John was thinking Jesus was going to be out there proclaiming that he was the Messiah. He was the King of the Jews. And, and that’s what John was expecting. And that hadn’t happened there. As a matter of fact, Jesus kept telling everybody to keep his identity a secret for a long time, we saw in the first year of his ministry,

therefore he did with his doubts. What every true believer in Christ should always do that is he brought them to Jesus who answered and relieve them. John was in prison at the time, his preaching had been rewarded with maltreatment at the hand of the religious and social authorities. It’s, it’s no wonder that he wanted answers to his doubts. He was in a bad place.

He was in a dark place being stuck in prison. And he, he wanted to know that everything he had worked for was coming to fruition in Christ verse 21. And in that same hour, he cured many of their infirmities in plagues and of evil spirits and unto many that were blind. He gave sight In response to John and response to John’s questions.

Jesus gives visible evidence that he is indeed the Messiah, the miracles, which he performed on this occasion should have served as an answer for these disciples on many that were blind and be stowed. He bestowed sight. The text says the Greek suggests that he kindly gave sight or he graciously gave sight. This is very characteristic of our Lord, not only the cure,

but the manner in which he performed it. And dear at him to those who were objects of his kindness and compassion Verse 22, then Jesus answering said, unto them, go your way and tell John what things you have seen and heard how the blind see the lame walk. The lepers are cleansed. The deaf hear the dead are raised to the poor.

The gospel is preached. The texts here to the poor. The gospel is preached. Jesus realized that John by his very nature would recognize the fulfillment of prophecy. When it was pointed out to him, seeing that these things must be done in fulfillment of prophecy. John would thereby curb his impatience and recognize that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah brother Ladelle stated again,

Christ had come not with the military might of an earthly kingdom, but with the mercy from heaven. So was fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 35, five through 10. Hm. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in him. Verse 23, Jesus stated the pulpit commentary calls attention to the tender way in which Jesus deals with the doubts that John May have had a warning was needed.

But it was given in the form of a beatitude, which is which it was still open to him to claim and make his own<inaudible> Verse 24. And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John. What went ye out into the wilderness for to see a Reed shaken with the wind Jesus, his testimony concerning John is one of those tender,

earnest and exquisitely, beautiful utterances of our Lord that shines brightly. A Reed shaken with the wind. John was not a no slender trifling character blown about by every doctrine. He was no delicate spiritual character merely amusing himself by turning himself into a preacher. He was more like the sturdy Oak, which can not be moved so easily. John was not a vacillating popularity,

seeker preaching. Only those things that fit fitted the popular mood, a weather vane type of preacher pointing in all directions like a Reed in the wind. He was sturdy. He’s stood fast in God’s word verses 25 through 27. But what ye out for to see a man clothed in soft, Raymond behold, they, which are gorgeously appareled and live delicately are in Kings courts.

But what went ye out for to see a prophet? Yay. I see unto you and much more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written behold. I send my messenger before they face, which shall prepare thy way before the, it is significant that Jesus changes slightly. The words found in Malakai chapter three in verse one, the old Testament prophet had actually written behold.

I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me. But in quoting the passage, Jesus says, behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which prepare the way before the, before the, the pulpit commentary States that States in the profits eyes, he, who was sending and he before whom the way was to be prepared. We’re one in the same person Jehovah.

So the one that was sending Jesus, the Lord, the one that was to be prepared, Jesus, the Lord hints the before me of Malakai, but the, but for Jesus who is speaking of himself and never confounds himself with the father, a distinction became necessary. That connection of Malakai and the words of Jesus has our Lord implying that he is in fact,

the divine God who so led Malakai to rot, right? The prophecy. So here in once in one quoting, adding just a couple of words, Jesus is not only quoting that the prophecy has been fulfilled, but that he is the one who gave the prophecy in the first place. Once again, Jesus is affirming his deity verse 28 for I see in to you among those that are born of women,

there is not a greater profit than John the Baptist, but he, that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he, none greater had arisen than John, his faithfulness, his character, his boldness and courage set him apart from those born of women. But Jesus was teaching his disciples. That one who enters the kingdom was in fact greater than John.

The greatness is not one of character, but of privileges and blessings. The lesson seems to be that if John was blessed of God, and obviously he was blessed of God, then those who have the wisdom to enter the kingdom will in a much greater fashion, be blessed as well. The words greater than he Men living this side of the cross are greater than John.

Only in the sense of the message they proclaim and the blessing which they enjoy. Even the most significant isolated child of God is greater than John. If for no other reason than the fact that the message which we proclaim is so far superior to the message, which John proclaimed, John proclaimed of the coming Christ, we proclaim the Christ has come and salvation is ours to be had verses 29 and 30.

And all the people that heard him and the publicans justified God being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves being not baptized of him. Those who rejected John’s baptism were not rejecting the winds of some eccentric man in the wilderness. They were in fact rejecting the very council of God as it, as it was was then.

So it is now those who reject the baptism of the new Testament do not reject some mere theory of men. They reject the counsel of God and his son, Jesus Christ, By rejecting Anything that has to do that comes from God. We are objecting, God verses 31 through 35. And the Lord said, where two then shall I liken the men of this generation?

And two, what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace and calling one to another and saying, we have piped unti, PIP piped unto you. And you have not danced. And we have more into you and you have not wept for John. The Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine. And you say he had a devil.

The son of man has come eating and drinking. And he say, behold, a gluttonous man and a wine. Bibber a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of all, All her children. This illustration would have been familiar to the people of this city. What Jesus has just said here, the marketplace was a place where children would play children.

Playing would invite their friends to play along as they piped and dance pretending to be at a wedding, but their friends refused to play along in turn. They would invite their friends to whale and weep as they pretended to be at a funeral. But again, they refused to play along the application, being that as these children could not be satisfied, no matter what the game.

So the Jews of that age would not be satisfied at the messengers sent to prepare the way for the coming kingdom. John came with his abstinence, his seclusion in the wilderness. They could not bear the man and even accused him of possessing a demon. Jesus came entering into homes of the publicans and sinners, eating with them and walking in the street Of the Jews.

These immature Jews, like the little Children would not accept him either. Neither motive life would satisfy them. They were as unreasonable as little children. And in fact, Jesus was saying, you men of this generation are like a troop of wayward children who go on with their own game at one time gate at another time grave and give heed to no one else and experience that everyone should conform to them.

As brother Wade caster. One of my teachers said that you were angry with John because he would not dance to your pit piping. And with me, because I will not weep to your dirge, John sensored, your<inaudible>. I rebuke your hypocrisy. You vilify both and reject the good counsel of God who has devised of men means for your salvation and wisdom is justified of all her children.

The wisdom said in this verse, these verses the wisdom revealed to John in this incident was actually manifested in life and doctrine of Christ. This verse simply means that Christ was approved and justified by all those who were truly they could see through the inconsistencies and foolish Ringlings of the farracies. All right. So I didn’t know I was supposed to stop there, but I’m supposed to stop there and we’ll go ahead and go through the questions now.<inaudible> Number one.

Why did this in Tyrian and Capernaum not come to Jesus himself concerning his dying slave. Excuse me. Yep. They felt unworthy. Correct? How did this interaction say that Jesus could heal the slave? Yeah, just by saying so just the power of his word. Jesus marveled at the Capernaum, centurions a home, be soldier skills, see obedient slaves or de faith.

Thanks. I like how they give you, like all these completely. That’s not the answer. And then they’re like, Oh, and D faith. Yeah. What was Jesus’s feeling for the widow of Dean whose son had died? Yes. He had compassion. What did the people of Nene say about Jesus after he raised the son of the widow?<inaudible> Yes.

And prophet was among them or God had visited his people. When the two messengers from John, the Baptist asked Jesus, are you the one who is coming? What was his reply?<inaudible> So in Jesus his own way, he said yes. Why? According to Jesus had the people gone out into the wilderness to see John the Baptist<inaudible> Yeah, they wanted,

they wanted to see for themselves if he was real, basically not a Reed shaken in the wind. And these people were dressed in fanciful clothes, going out there to see if this was actually the prophet, a prophet, the messenger to prepare the way for him. Was John the Baptist in the kingdom of God? No, he was before the kingdom of God.

Before the church who had been baptized with John’s baptism in Luke seven 29 through 30, Huh? Yes, sir. And who had not been baptized with John’s baptism, Pharisees, and Lord, you didn’t give anybody a chance to answer any of the questions you just did it all yourself. Very good. All right. I know we’re stopping a little bit early today,

but you got me and not Aaron, so I’m not, I’m trying to keep it down a little bit. Thank you very much. We’ll take a break and come for worship. We have a little church of Christ, Sunday morning, worship service. It’s great to see each of you here. I have a fair number of announcements. So bear with me this morning.

But first of all, I want to welcome our guest. If you’re visiting with us, we want you to know that you are our honored guest. And if you would please take a moment and pick up the card and the Pew in front of you and fill it out and hand it to one of us or just leave it on the Pew. And it will be picked up.

Also, as you came in the auditorium, I know all of the members are familiar with this, but the communion cups are on the table. As you walk through the doors, if you would pick up your bread and your wine, as it is displayed there and take it with you to your seat, if you haven’t done that yet, now’s a good time to go get it.

And while we’re going through the announcements we have, as I mentioned earlier, a fair number of members that are sick and under the weather, remember Joan Springer. She is doing a little bit better perhaps, and Dorothy Wilson. She still has problems with her blood pressure. And so on her grand daughter, Taylor Wilson and her ex daughter-in-law and her husband, and are all suffering from COVID.

So the family itself is, is pretty well down. Also remember Noah Olson, he’s the Memphis school of preaching student that is working with us here. He is out with yeah, Barbara Dillard is recovering from a rotator cuff procedure. And she’s certainly in a lot of pain from that. And I understand that is a very painful operation and she will be unable to move her arm for two weeks.

Now, I don’t know how they immobilize it, but it must be, must be very uncomfortable. Lucky Hanks is home and doing well from his procedure that he had and putting a place pacemaker in. And it seems to be, I’ve talked to him a couple of times and he seems to be doing much better and is honestly feeling better after having had the pacemaker,

Alena sharp, Shelly stacks, mother, I just talked with Shelly. She came in, she has double pneumonia and she also is suffering from Murcia, a very serious infection, and she’s holding her own, but not doing well. And Jake and Missy Sutton, they were ex church, Memphis school of preaching students. That kinda had a connection here. They visited often,

but both of those have COVID and they are working in Georgia now. So it need to keep them, and it of utmost importance to us is Aaron Cozort has a sinus infection. He doesn’t think it’s a COVID or anything like that, but just to be on the safe side. And he’s waiting to see how that develops. And he’s not with us today.

So need to keep all of these people in our prayers and hopefully we’ll get some relief from this COVID shortly. We need to also remember Francis Redmond. She lost her daughter, I guess it was Thursday night, early Friday morning. They found her body and car in the garage with the motor running. And she had left a note that she was on the way to Walgreens to get some medicine for.

She was having a lot of pain with her chest and just general pain. So the parent Frances founder, about four o’clock in the morning, we don’t know much about it, but at any rate, she passed away. And we don’t know whether it was from carbon monoxide poisoning or whether it was heart attack or what really happened. But we do know that she was headed for Walgreens to get some medicine.

And we don’t know what time of night that was, but carbon running for a good while in the garage with the door shut and the fumes. Well, Frances and she found her about four o’clock in the morning and called the paramedics or call nine one one. And the fire department came and took care of the situation. Francis ended up in the hospital for the biggest part of the day,

Friday to get the carbon monoxide Al of her system. So that’s all I know about that. So keep Francis in your prayers at the loss of her daughter, and she has fully recovered from her carbon monoxide poisoning. That’s all the announcements that I have. Our song leader today will be Jacob Wallace. We appreciate him coming and doing this on such a short notice.

Joe caisson will have the opening prayer. Tommy O’Neil will be officiating at our Lord’s supper. Michael Dale we’ll have our sermon and Murray Springer. We’ll have the closing prayer again. Thank you for your attendance. First song of worship. This morning will be number eight 69 we’re marching design come. We that love the Lord and<inaudible> join in a song with sweet corn.

Join in a song with sweet, a chord and a so around throw throw. And so around the throne were arching twos, a young beautiful<inaudible> beautiful city of God. Lactose reef used to sing who never God, but children of the heavenly King, but children of the heavenly King may speak their choice up broad may speak their choice. Bra God we’re botching juice,

Yon. Beautiful.<inaudible> beautiful city of God.<inaudible> songs about danda. Every tear be dry. We’re marching through and man Wells ground. We’re marching through him, man. UL’s ground to fam. Well, it’s hard to rope welds on high.<inaudible> beautiful.<inaudible> upward to a beautiful city. Our song before our first prayer, I’ll be number three 15 when I survey the wondrous cross.

Hm, wow. And I saw<inaudible> which<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> for<inaudible> save. And<inaudible> all the pain things that<inaudible> I sacrifice them to is see from his head. He, his hands, his feet saw arrow B go the such love. And so me needs<inaudible> so rich.<inaudible> where a whole<inaudible> that pres too small. So<inaudible> so the nine T mans.

My, so my life<inaudible> Out a smile. Oh God, our father in heaven, we truly are grateful unto thee for the privilege that we have as your children to come here and worship this day. Father we’re mine for the great love that was demonstrated through your son, coming to this earth and suffering and dying on the cross of Calvary, that we might have our sins cleansed and be able to become children of yours.

Father. We’re grateful for the Bible study period that we’ve had to come and be strengthened by your word. And we’re thankful for Michael and his ability to teach the class. We pray father that as we consider the things that we studied today, that our faith will be strengthened. It will have a better understanding of your will and that we might have the privilege to continue to serve you to the best of our ability.

We pray father that might always be mindful of those that are not members of your body. And that we pray that we might say or do something and be able to share your word with them, that they might come to them, knowledge of your wheel and want to buy it. We’re so grateful father that we can call your, our father, that we can be your children and have that peace of mine that we’re serving you and glorifying you.

And we pray. We continue to do that, that we might have that home and having with a one day father were mindful of all the sick that have been mentioned in those that have undergone procedures. For those that have the code virus, we pray father that you to be with all of these and pray for those that are administering to them, that they might do those things that are most needful to help restore them to their health father.

We’re also mindful of Francis and the loss of Sandy. We pray father that you be with her and comfort her and help us to be an encouragement to her through this difficult period of time that she has faced. We pray father specially for Aaron and for aid in the children and pray that Aaron might regain his health and would not have been inflicted by the COVID TRIBErs.

We pray father that you continue to bless them and watch over them. We pray father that you be with Michael is he’s about to break the bread of life to us today and pray that you continue to strengthen him as he goes to the school of preaching, that his ability to teach and preach your word might be increased and he’ll be effective servant in the kingdom.

We pray to be with his family and, and watch over them and pray that they might be blessed and that we, we would encourage them as we have that privilege and opportunity to be able to help them support them in this effort at the school of preaching, probably that you be with Noah is he’s try and recover from being exposed to the virus. And probably that he’ll be back with us soon and take up his place here.

We’re thankful for Jacob dear father, that he’s come to direct our songs service. We pray that you be with him in the, in the directing of our songs. And probably that we might listen a tenant to the, to the words that we saying that we might truly be praising thy name, and also being admonished in one another with the songs that we sing.

Father, we’re grateful for those that are teaching and preaching. In other lands, we pray for those that we support and pray that we might always keep them in our prayers. That many souls might hear the gospel and want to be obedient to it. Dear God, we pray that you be with our nation and the turmoil that she’s in, we pray that we will always stand up for the truth dear father,

and that we try to be the best examples we can be to those round about us, that they truly know that we’re your children, that we’re trying to follow your will and, and give you the honor and the glory and the praise help us to help those that are not your children. To be a more godly people, to not be an ungodly nation that we appear to be.

And we pray father that we have strength and courage that we continue to live our lives out in a way that would please and glorify you remind for those that are unfaithful father. And we pray that we might be able to encourage them in some form or fashion that they would know where they stand in your sight and would turn back to you and become fateful.

Children of yours. Bless us, our father and our worship today, we pray it will be acceptable. Help us always keep in mind your love and that we should extend that love to others. As we have that opportunity that we will be patient with one another and compassionate toward those that are having difficulties strengthen us each day and help us be strengthened by worship today.

And we pray that it be pleased you in Jesus name, amen For the Lord separate. We’ll be singing My love for cross course week number three 50, When my love to cry scrolls, we went for tea Fe dicey<inaudible> garden.<inaudible> that’d be how old is gunny suffered on the bit a tree C has a<inaudible> love TRIBE.<inaudible> then<inaudible> the journey.

All the, no, the pain<inaudible> and falls selves. Chris, We have this opportunity this morning to eat of this bread and drink of the cup. As we haven’t been commanded to do, to remember the death of Christ, our Lord and savior and the sacrifice that he made for all of mankind. Would you bow with me, Our heavenly father.

We thank you for this bread, which to us represents the body of our savior sacrificed for our sins. We asked, dear Lord did this. Each of us take of it that we want, think of the horrible death that he died, and that would my partake of it all on Berlin. Truly thankful manner. Yes. We ask him Christ name.

Amen. Would you bow with me? Our heavenly father, wicked 10 yard. Thanks for this fruit of the vine. Wait, Pray that as we partake of it, each one of us would think about the salvation that we might have through this Blood. We pray that we would take over dinner Manner that is pleasing and acceptable in my sight. So in Christ’s name,

we ask, Amen, your Bible with me, Our heavenly father. We thank you for all of the blessings that we receive in this life. We do not even realize how numerous they are. We thank you for the material blessings that we have in this country. We can look at other countries around us and see, I say that we truly are a blessed country.

We thank you for these blessings. As we prepared to return on the part of that, that we have been blessed with. We pray that we would do so with a cheerful, thankful heart. This we ask in Christ’s name. Amen.<inaudible> Our invitation song. After the lesson will be number nine, 15, number nine, one five, trust and obey.

We’ll sing that after the upcoming lesson, presently we’ll sing number five 65, 60 zero. Living by faith. I cannot today. What the Morrow may bring if shadow or sunshine or rain, the Lord, I know rule if thought ever be thing. And all of my worry is<inaudible> living by faith. Hey Jesus, trusting.<inaudible> hiding in his grade.<inaudible> I’m living by faith.

Hey, then feel Noah though. Tempus may blow and a storm cloud. So rise up scolding the brightness of LA live. I’m never alarmed that the overcast skies, the massive looks on at the straw living by faith. Hey, and she is also a trusting.<inaudible> hiding in his grave from<inaudible> I’m living by fear and feel. No. Well,

well we turn in his glory someday troubles. Well then I’ll be your, the masters. So gently, well Theda. So way beyond that last tab and Lee<inaudible> living by faith. Hey, Angie saw us up trusting<inaudible> from<inaudible>. I’m living by Faith. Hey, Banfield, Noah. Welcome to the Collierville church of Christ. Those of you that are visiting this morning,

I’m going to speak on the real test of discipleship. Our main text is going to be kept mostly in Mark chapter 10, verses one through 12. So if you’ll turn there, Mark chapter 10 verses one through 12, and we’re going to be reading that first and then getting into the lesson. And he arose from things and come at them to the coast of Judea by the farther side of Jordan and the people resort unto him again.

And he was not one. And he was want, he taught them again, as he was want. He taught them again. And the Pharisees came to him and asked him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife tempting him? And he answered and said unto them, what did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement and to put her away.

And Jesus answered and said unto them for the hardness of your heart. He wrote you this precept, but from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. And they Twain shall be one flesh. So then, so then they are no more Twain, but one flesh,

what, therefore God has joined together. Let not man put us under. And in the house, his disciples asked him again of the same matter. And he said unto them, whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another committed adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband and be married to another, she committed adultery. Does that sound a little loud to you sounds a little loud to me,

probably because both of them are on. You got it. It’s still on turn this one off. Sorry about that. As disciples, we need to ask ourselves, are we ready to face the tough questions in regards to others and ourselves as Christians, we are keenly aware that there are those who watch us only to see us fall. People will constantly just try to get a Christian to fall so they could say,

see, I told ya, at times these same people will set traps in order to snare us. Their reason for doing this is simple. They want an for not living as God has instructed here in Mark chapter 10, we have a similar situation. The Pharisees come to Jesus asking a question about his teaching and divorce on remarriage and remarriage teachings on divorce and remarriage.

Jesus explains what God’s will has always been for the marriage and those involved, but we cannot overlook that which takes place here. It is also a great test of real discipleship and not merely a discussion on divorce. This section of scripture can be broken down into two parts, the Pharisee’s question and purpose and Jesus’s question and answer. So let us consider the first part.

The farrier sees question and purpose. Once again, we find Jesus teaching in the temple back to verse one in Mark, chapter 10, Mark ten one. And he arose from thence and cometh into the coast of Judea by the farther side of Jordan and the people resort unto him again. And as he was want, he taught them again on this particular occasion,

some Pharisees come to Jesus asking a question of him, verse two, and the Pharisees came to him and asked him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife tempting him? Clearly they are asking about a divorce. The question they are asking is in reference to Deuteronomy chapter 24, verses one through four, do on me chapter 24. This is one<inaudible>.

When a man has taken a wife and married her and it come to pass that she finds no favor in his eyes because he had found some uncleanness in her. Then let him write her a bill of divorcement and give it in her hand and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be known and be another man’s wife.

And if the latter husband hate her and write her a bill of divorcement and give with it in her hand and sendeth her out of his house, or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife, her former husband, which sent her away may not take her again to be his wife. After that, she is defiled for that is abomination before the Lord and now shall not cause the land to sin,

which the Lord, thy God give it the foreign inheritance. Again. Clearly we’re speaking. The Pharisees are speaking of divorce here. There are some things we need to consider about this question that they asked Jesus. First at the time, this question is asked. There are two main schools of thought on the issue by the Jewish rabbis and the century before Jesus,

before Christ learned rabbi by the name of Hillel came to Jerusalem and soon became head of the chief school in the city. One of his students, she MII separated from his master and set up another school of teaching at the time of Jesus, his appearance, the scribes and doctors of the law were broken into two parties. The followers of Hillel and the followers of shamiah the teaching on divorce for each party.

We’re an opposition to one, another rabbi Hillel taught that divorce could happen for the smallest offense. Anything your wife or husband does anything well at this point in time, it was your wife. If your wife does anything that you do not like she doesn’t make her coffee, right? Give her a writ of divorce and get rid of her. But rabbi Shammai taught that divorce could only happen because of sexual unfaithfulness.

The way the question is worded makes it clear. They are speaking of the teachings of rabbi Hillel. Let’s turn to Matthew chapter 19 in verse three. This is the, this is the same talk, but in Matthew’s account, Matthew 19 in verse three,<inaudible> The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him and saying unto him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

So they’re asking about the teachings of Hillel here, because these are the teachings that they follow let’s consider the words of Josephus and his antiquities. Josephus was a writer back in the time of Christ, a Jewish historian, if you will. And what he States in his book is he that desires to be divorced from his wife for any cause whatsoever. And many such causes happen among men.

Many such causes. He says happened among men, whatever the cause is, like I said, she made her coffee wrong. You can get rid of her, let him in writing, give assurance that he will never use her as his wife anymore for, by this means she may be at Liberty to marry another husband. Although before this bill of divorce be given,

she is not to be permitted to do so, but if she be misused by him also, or if when he is dead, her first husband would marry her. Again. It shall not be lawful for her to return to him. Sounds a lot like Deuteronomy 24, one through four second. It is clear from the text why they are asking this specific question.

Let’s read Mark chapter 10 and verse two, again, Mark chapter 10 and verse two. And the furious seas came to him and asked him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? The question that clear intent, tempting him. They were tempting Christ. They are clearly not asking this to gain some spiritual insight or some spiritual truth.

They asked this to catch Jesus in a trap like politicians in the news media of today, the Pharisees want Jesus to go on record so they can have something to use against him. The trap is found in whom Jesus sides with. Now, if Jesus sides with says that the man can divorce for any cause he sides with rabbi Hillel and they would then claim Jesus was morally lax.

If Jesus’ sides says only for unfaithfulness, he sides with Shanghai, they will claim that Jesus is unfriendly to sinners or non forgiving. He also puts himself against the most popular view held by the wealthy. If he rejected, both the Pharisees could say, Jesus is against all divorce and thus violating Deuteronomy 24, one through four. What we read from Moses,

the Pharisees believed that they had a question by which they could bring harm to Jesus and his work from the time Jesus began teaching to this point in time here in the, in the texts that we’re reading in Mark chapter 10, there had always been a resistance toward him and his teaching. Every single time, the Pharisees of the scribes or the Sadducees are around.

They were trying to find something to trap Jesus in their goal was to hold their current belief system and get Jesus out of the picture because as they saw it, Jesus, his teachings were detrimental to their way of life. He was trying to get rid of all the old and bringing the new right, following the question of the Pharisees. Jesus now responds with a question of his own and an answer.

Let’s look at Jesus’s question and answer Mark chapter 10, three through 12. And we’re going to read through the whole thing again. I want this in everybody’s mind. And he answered and said unto them, what did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto them for the hardness of your heart.

He wrote you this precept, but from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. And they Twain shall be one flesh. So then they are no more Twain. That’s two but one flesh. What? Therefore God has joined together. Let no man put us under.

And in the house, his disciples asked him again of the same matter. And he said unto them, whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another committed adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband and be married to another, she committed adultery. Jesus begins by appealing to the law, which they claim to uphold. He is not appealing to one of their rabbis.

Current school of teachings. We see this in Mark chapter three, when he says, what did Moses command you? And verse four, the Pharisees correctly, state what? Deuteronomy 24 and verses one through four state. And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement and to put her away. But in verses in verse five, Jesus explains what Deuteronomy 24,

why Deuteronomy 24, one through four even existed. And Jesus answered and said unto them for the hardness of your heart. He wrote you this precept. It was because they had hard hearts. They couldn’t accept what God wanted. And so Moses suffered them to write a bill of divorcement. What Moses permitted did not change God’s will for marriage. Moses simply stated that if they were going to send their wives away,

as certificate of divorcement should be given and no way did this alter God’s original design for marriage or mean God was pleased with the action itself. And Moses never indicates and verses in chapter 24, that it was that God was okay with it. Or even that he was okay with it. The teachers of the law believe that Moses was giving them permission to divorce their wives.

But he was not since they had already determined to divorce their wives because of the hardness of their hearts. Moses said, write a certificate of divorce. When we get to verses six through nine, Jesus does something unexpected. Instead of addressing their question on divorce, he explains God’s will for marriage. Let’s read six through nine, again, Mark 10, six through nine.

But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. And they Twain shall be one flesh. So then they are no more Twain, but one flesh what? Therefore God has joined together. Let no man put us under, Excuse me. And understanding God’s will for marriage.

You understand God, you understand God’s view on divorce. And if the Pharisees really wanted to know God’s will for marriage, Deuteronomy 24 was not the place to look because it speaks of the hardness of their hearts because they were, they Moses suffered them. This let us consider what Jesus said about God’s plan for marriage. First God’s plan for marriage begin at the creation.

Jesus States this plainly and verse six, a from the beginning of the creation, he says his plan does not arrive on the scene. When Moses gives this wall and Deuteronomy 24, his plan has been there from the beginning of creation marriage from the beginning. Second God’s plan for marriage involves a male and a female. Again, Jesus States this in plain language.

Let’s read six again, but from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. This is how God created. Let’s turn to Genesis one 27, just put it in our minds. This is how God created. Let’s go back to the beginning. Genesis chapter one in verse 27. So God created man in his own image and the image of God created,

he him male and female created he them and context, male and female are used in reference to marriage because God had created male and female. His intentions were always for marriage to take place between the two, a male and a female. This would exclude any other parties from marrying period because this was looked down on as vial and unnatural turn to Romans chapter one verses 26 and 27,

Romans chapter one 26 and 27.<inaudible> Romans one 26 and 27 for this cause God gave them up to vile affections for even their women did change the natural use into that, which is against nature. And likewise also the men leaving the natural use of women. Natural use of women burned in their lust, one toward another men with men working that, which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error,

which was meat. This is vial. This is unnatural against nature. This is lust. This is unseemly. This is error. All God Jesus is saying here is it’s to be between a man and a woman, nothing else. Third God’s plan of marriage involves the creation of a family. No longer are we to be with our parents. Turn back to Mark chapter 10,

Mark chapter 10, and look at verse seven For this cause Shelly man, leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife. Excuse me Again, no longer with parents. We can see this back in the beginning, go back to Genesis chapter two and we’ll look at verse 22 through 24 Genesis two 22. God sets up how marriage is supposed to be Genesis two 22 through 24 And the rib,

which the Lord God had taken from man made he a woman and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife. And they shall be one flesh.

Cleave. Here is the idea of being glued together. They are glued together, whether that is stronger than glue that we can imagine because this is a spiritual glue. This is a closer relationship than one could ever fathom having with their father or their mother. Fourth God’s plan for marriage joins two until one. Jesus tells us this in Mark chapter 10 in verse eight,

let’s go back to our main texts in Mark chapter 10. If you’re not already there, Mark chapter 10 in verse eight and they Twain shall be one flesh. So then they are no more two, but one flesh. God, the father tells us this in Genesis chapter two 24, as we read earlier, it’s the exact same thing. The two shall be one flesh.

Jesus adds. So then they are no more Twain, but one flesh for emphasis. He wants us to understand when you are married, you become one, two becoming one involves both the mind and the body. This is not merely a sexual relationship. This is, This is completely Spiritual. Mental. You are one person. Fifth God’s plan for marriage does not permit man to break it.

No man is allowed to break this marriage. Mark chapter 10 in verse nine, Jesus says what? Therefore God has joined together. Let not man put Asunder. The figure here Is yoked together. And it is God who does the yoking. Now yoke is what they used to put on oxygen. When they were threshing the fields, they would have to oxen side by side in this double arch that they would put on top of the yolks next and hinge with another one double arch that came up and they would block it together.

So when the, when the oxen were threshing, when they were doing the field, they had to stay together. One couldn’t go off in either direction. They were pooled in the same direction because of this yoke. And this yoke is what God does to a man and a woman. When they get married, they become yoked together as such let no man put us under.

Jesus says Legon has joined together in his creation. No man has the right to separate no man, if he does. So he stands in direct opposition to God. Having said this in verse 11 and 12, Jesus explains what happens if God’s plan is not followed. Let’s read Mark 10, 11, and 12 Mark chapter 10, 11, and 12.

And he said unto them, whosoever Shall put away his wife and marry another committed adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband and be married to another, she committed adultery. Jesus says, if a man or woman divorces their meat and marries another, they are committing adultery. It’s plain language here. Moses permitted them to give a certificate of divorce,

but this did not change the result of them. Marrying another person. You can get divorced for any reason because of the hardness of your hearts. But that doesn’t mean you can go off and get married to somebody else. We need to consider one other part of Jesus’s answer, not found in Mark. Let us consider Matthew chapter 19 and verse nine, Matthew chapter 19 and verse nine.

And I say unto you whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication and shall marry another committed adultery and whoso Mary with her, which has put away death commit adultery. And let us also consider Matthew chapter five, go back to Matthew chapter five, verses 31 and 32, Matthew five 31 and 32. It has been said who’s so let him per a writing of divorcement.

But I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife saving for the cause of fornication. That is sex outside of the marriage, causes her to commit adultery and whosoever shall marry her. That is divorced, committed adultery here. Jesus makes it clear that God does not allow divorce and remarriage to take place. If, and only if adultery has taken place on the part of the mates,

this is the only reason the word except indicates the one exception. The exception is fornication adultery, that Greek porneia, this is every kind of unlawful sexual intercourse. Anything sexual that your mate does against you? The answer Jesus gave to the Pharisees question is not what they were looking for. Clearly the fact that they were trying to catch Jesus in a trap did not matter to him.

In fact, what was not going. In fact, he was not going to side with one of their schools of thought, just to avoid this confrontation with the Pharisees. He was clear under the law of Moses. They had no reason to divorce their wives unless fornication had taken place, but because of the hardness of their hearts, because they couldn’t put it in their mind.

He allowed them to give a writ of divorcement. And considering what has been said, although the issue is divorced and subsequently remarriage, there is a bigger issue at hand that pertains to all disciples. The problem Jesus faced here in this is the same one. Moses faced the hardness of their hearts. If we look at one other passage, I think this will be made clear.

Let us read Matthew chapter 19 verses 10 through 12 Matthew, 1910 through 12. His disciples say unto him. If the case, if the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry, but he said unto them, all men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given for. There are some units which were so born from their mother’s womb.

And there are some units which were made units of men and there’d be units which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven sake. He, that is able to receive it. Let him receive it as disciples. Are we ready to face the tough questions as Jesus did here in regards to others and ourselves, this is the real test of discipleship. Are you ready to go out and answer the tough questions?

What must I do to be saved first? You must hear the word of God, Romans 10 17, because it will lead you to faith. Second. You must believe that Jesus is the Christ. The son of the living God, John eight 24. So you will not die in your sins. Third, you must repent of your past life. As God has commanded acts 1730 fourth.

You must confess Jesus as the Christ, the son of the living God before man Matthew 10 32. If we wish to be confessed before God by Christ and heaven, fifth, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. Acts two 38. And finally you must live faithfully to God walking in the light. First, John one, six and seven until death to receive a crown of life revelation two 10.

Nobody is going to know this stuff unless we are willing to go out and teach it and to be able to go out and teach it. We must know it all ourselves. If you have yet to obey the waters of baptism already for you, or if you have need of prayers of the saints, we’re here for you, whatever your need, please come forward as Dan scene.<inaudible> way while we do his good will he abides with us still?

And we will trust and<inaudible> trust Stan Dalby for there’s no the way to be happy and jeez us, but to trust. And<inaudible> not a shadow can rise, not her cloud and sky rise, but his smile quickly drive<inaudible> wow. Are a fee here. Nada<inaudible> can abide while we trust that<inaudible> trust<inaudible> for. There’s no the way to be happy and jeez us,

but to trust. And<inaudible> then in fallow ships, we eat, we will say that his feet we’ll walk by his side in a way, what he says we will do where he sends. We will go never fear. Oh, the trust and<inaudible> trust<inaudible> for. There’s no a way to be happy and she saw us, but to trust.

And<inaudible> Our final song this morning before worship for closing, prayer will be number seven 38. Take the name of Jesus with you. Mm mm. Take that off Name of Jesus with you child off Sato and have also it well, joy and comfort.<inaudible> you take it then wherever you go. Precious name O house. We<inaudible> precious<inaudible> house.

We<inaudible><inaudible> Oh, the precious name of cheese, a us. How with thrills, our souls with your boy when his lobbying arm<inaudible> and his songs are tongues implore, precious name. Oh, house. We hope<inaudible><inaudible> house. We need hope about that.<inaudible> would you bow with me? Our God and our father in heaven. We’re thankful for this privilege that we’ve had this morning together together as a church and to sing praises to the,

and to offer into the worship without worthy Lord, we ask that you would forgive us of our sins, that we asked that you would be with us during this pandemic. Keep us safe from the virus that is there and pray for the people of the world father, that you would keep them safe from this virus, thankful that you’ve given us a vaccine that’s going to help.

We asked that you would be with us as we go to our respective homes and remember that every day of our lives, we’re supposed to be Christians. We’re supposed to behave ourselves in that way. These things we ask in Christ’s name. Amen.

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In Everything?

In Admonition, Podcasts by Aaron Cozort

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:25

Description:

And now admonition.

If you’re a wife, do you have to submit to your husband? Well, the Bible says, yes.

Well, the second question is, do you have to submit in everything? Ephesians chapter five, verse 24, therefore just as the church is subject to Christ. So let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. You only have to submit in all the same ways in which the church has to submit to Christ in everything For more from the Collierville church of Christ visit Colliervillecoc.org.

This is E T B N. Let the truth be told.


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This video is a production of Collierville Christian Radio, the Collierville church of Christ, and the Gospel Broadcasting Network.

Aaron Cozort is the preacher for the Collierville church of Christ.

The Collierville church of Christ meets on Sundays morning and afternoon at 575 Shelton Road, Collierville, TN 38017.
To learn more about the Collierville church of Christ, visit colliervillecoc.org

Not currently a subscriber to Admonition? Sign up for this daily video devotional by Email: www.colliervillecoc.org/daily or www.cozort.org/free.

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In Everything?

In Admonition, Podcasts by Aaron Cozort

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:25

Description:

And now admonition.

If you’re a wife, do you have to submit to your husband? Well, the Bible says, yes.

Well, the second question is, do you have to submit in everything? Ephesians chapter five, verse 24, therefore just as the church is subject to Christ. So let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. You only have to submit in all the same ways in which the church has to submit to Christ in everything For more from the Collierville church of Christ visit Colliervillecoc.org.

This is E T B N. Let the truth be told.


Details About Admonition

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In Everything?

In Admonition, Podcasts by Aaron Cozort

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:25

Description:

And now admonition.

If you’re a wife, do you have to submit to your husband? Well, the Bible says, yes.

Well, the second question is, do you have to submit in everything? Ephesians chapter five, verse 24, therefore just as the church is subject to Christ. So let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. You only have to submit in all the same ways in which the church has to submit to Christ in everything For more from the Collierville church of Christ visit Colliervillecoc.org.

This is E T B N. Let the truth be told.


Details About Admonition

SyzwsMTV4nw

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Are You Filling Your Life With Alcohol or the Spirit? – Admonition 325

In Admonition Podcast by Web Administrator

Ephesians 5:17-18 – Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit
 
 Transcript:
 
 There are some things in our lives that just shouldn’t exist. There are some choices that we just shouldn’t make, and among those is this. 
 
 Paul says in Ephesians, chapter five, verse 18, when he says, I want you to understand the will of God, he says, You can’t do that and be drunk.
 
 He says, Do not be drunk with wine in which is dissipation but be filled with the Spirit. Are you filling your life with alcohol or the Spirit of God?
 
 For more from the Collierville Church of Christ, visit www.colliervillecoc.org.

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Are You Filling Your Life With Alcohol or the Spirit?

In Admonition, Podcasts by Aaron Cozort

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:17-18

Description:

Ephesians 5:17-18 – Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit

Transcript:

There are some things in our lives that just shouldn’t exist. There are some choices that we just shouldn’t make, and among those is this.

Paul says in Ephesians, chapter five, verse 18, when he says, I want you to understand the will of God, he says, You can’t do that and be drunk.

He says, Do not be drunk with wine in which is dissipation but be filled with the Spirit. Are you filling your life with alcohol or the Spirit of God?

For more from the Collierville Church of Christ, visit www.colliervillecoc.org.


Details About Admonition

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How Should You Treat Your Wife? – Admonition 324

In Admonition Podcast by Web Administrator

Ephesians 5:25 – Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her
 
 Transcript:
 
 Husbands, how should you treat your wife? Ephesians, chapter five, verse 25, says, Husbands love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her.
 
 Love your wife and give yourself to her as Christ has showed you the example
 
 For more from the Collierville Church of Christ, visit www.colliervillecoc.org.

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01-06-2021 – Live Stream Matthew 7 (Class)

In Bible Classes Videos, Jesus, Live Streams by Aaron Cozort

Questions

JESUS – Matthew 7
The Sermon on the Mount (continued): Judging Others; Prayer; Way to Heaven
  1. By what standard of measure will each individual Christian be judged? Matthew 7:1-2  
  2. What two examples of a father and son did Jesus give to explain how the Father in heaven gives to those who ask him? Matthew 7:7-11
  3. In the sermon on the mount, how did Jesus tell his disciples to treat others?
    This teaching is often called the “Golden Rule.” Matthew 7:12
  4. (broad or narrow) The way to heaven is _________ and the way to hell is _________.
    How many will find the way to heaven? Matthew 7:13-14
  5. Teaching from the mountain, Jesus said false prophets could be recognized by ________________.
    How many false prophets did Jesus say there are? Matthew 7:15-20, 22
  6. Jesus said those who will enter the kingdom of heaven must (a) only believe, (b) call Jesus “Lord,” (c) pray often, or (d) do the will of the Father. Matthew 7:21
  7. Describe the wise and foolish builders. Matthew 7:24-27

TEXT:

Mt 7:1 ¶ Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
7 ¶ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
12 ¶ Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
15 ¶ Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
21 ¶ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
(KJV)

Automated Transcript:

Good evening. Good evening. I had a pen. I’ll do that. We are in Matthew chapter seven. We’re going to review the questions for Matthew six and then get into our lesson on Matthew seven. If anyone’s wondering where lesson two forties questions are, they’re the ones that say less than two 39 and Mark five. And they’re neither one of those things.

They’re they’re questions for less than two 40 from Matthew five. And there are no questions from two 39, because that was the review that we did of previous lessons. So accuracy, what can I say? All right. Question one from lesson two 41, Matthew six. When an individual does an act of charity or praise or Fass he should do so a sounding a trumpet be before men to be noticed by them.

See in secret or D putting on a gloomy face in secret number two. Yes or no. Did Jesus teach the disciples how to pray in his sermon on the mountain? Yes. Question three. Yes or no. Will the heavenly father forgive those who do not forgive other people? No Question for where should an individual store up treasures. Heaven. Why?

Hi, Everything else. Parishes. The things on this earth do not last Also Where your treasure is there. Your heart will be also all right. All three of those good answers. Question five. Yes or no. Can an individual serve God and riches at the same time? No question six. A person should seek first. A food B drink,

C clothing or D Jesus’ kingdom, D Jesus’ kingdom, number seven in teaching the disciples not to be anxious. Jesus did not use the example of a birds. Be Pharisees. See human lifespan, the lilies or eat grass. All right. So birds is verse 26 Lilly’s verse 28.<inaudible> Gentiles, verse 32. Let’s see what verses it started. Verse 26.

Yeah, I think you’re right. B Pharisees. See human lifespan. So let me double check that, just to know that we’re right. Okay. You know, sometimes when they give, they give these multiple choice, I’m going to, how did they write it that way? Yes,<inaudible> I guess maybe depending upon what version, but it in verse 27,

which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature. It is really more an idea of the height of a person, not their, their, their, their height, their, how tall they are, as opposed to how long they live. So, like I said, I think it’s a poorly worded question. I changed it, but yes<inaudible> Okay.

While that could be true, cubit doesn’t make any sense. Would that, would that translation, which is why most translations don’t translate it that way is how do you add a cubit to your light, to, you know, either, either way. And, and I’ll, I’ll give somebody that, you know, with a footnote, but I think the answer,

the question writer, which wasn’t me was looking for probably was Pharisees. I think out of all of those, that, that was the one they were looking for. But you know, with COVID we’re not doing Bible bowl right now anyway, so you probably don’t have to worry about it. Okay. All right. Chapter seven, We’re going to, I didn’t,

I didn’t leave this in a prayer yet. Did I not? I didn’t think I did. My brain is everywhere tonight. All right. Let’s, let’s begin with a word of prayer and then we’ll get into chapter seven, our gracious father in heaven, we bow before you grateful for this day for its blessings, for all that you do for us on a daily basis with love and care and concern for all those around us.

Those who are struggling with illness, those who are struggling with difficulties, spiritual problems, injuries, hardships, financial difficulties, and all the many things that we struggle with in this life. And yet your son came and told us to not be anxious about all of those things, but instead to lay up our treasure in heaven, to be mindful of those things that matter eternally more than those things that matter in this life,

we struggle sometimes with how to do that. On days like today, we struggle with the things going on in our country. The future decisions being made choices that people are, are choosing around us. And yet we remember that this life is not all there is that each one of us, when we leave this life will face judgment and we will give an account for what we have done,

what we have said and how we have acted in our lives. Lord, we pray for this country. We pray for its future. We pray for future generations. We pray for its leadership and the leadership of every country around the world, that they make decisions that uphold righteousness, that they make decisions that provide opportunities and doors of opportunities for your kingdom.

But we are also mindful and, and acknowledge the fact that we have a responsibility to preach the truth and to teach the truth and to hold fast to righteousness and faith, no matter what comes in, in any country around the world, we pray for those who are all over the world, preaching the gospel this very day in various different circumstances. And we pray for their safety and their ability to grow and prosper and bear fruit in your kingdom.

As they are faithful to you. All this, we pray in Jesus name. Amen.<inaudible> I want to say one, one thing only about the events that unfolded at the Capitol day. And that is if you use Facebook, you may go to my Facebook and you may see the video of brother John. Dewberry speaking on the house floor of, in the state of Tennessee and the house of representatives back in June and talking about how protests should and shouldn’t happen in our country and the way they should and shouldn’t be handled.

And it was as a clickable in the summer when it was other people protesting, as it is today, with the people who protest it. So I’m just going to give you that. If you want to go watch it, go watch it. It’s 12 minutes worth of your time, but we’re here for Matthew chapter seven, judge, not that you be not judged.

One Statement that has drawn More repetition from the religious world than maybe any other statement, except for God. So loved the world that he gave. His only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And of those two statements. I do believe that both of them are misapplied far more than they’re ever applied correctly. Jesus said,

judge, not that you being not judged for, with what judgment you judge is, shall be judged to you again In his context Has been all the way forward from Matthew chapter five selfishness and a dis and a disrespect for the law of God By Placing self over God. When Jesus speaks concerning judging in Matthew chapter seven, his context has not Changed. His Context is still selfishness and self before God,

which is the reason why this is not a condemnation on judging Nor Shall it ever be. As a matter of fact, before we get out of the chapter, Jesus will require We are judging repeatedly. He does condemn Judging, and we should not ever utter the words. Well, Jesus told me not to judge Hogwash. Jesus told us to judge repeatedly.

Jesus told us to judge, according to God’s Word And never to judge, according to our selves, Jesus says, judge, not that you be not judged for. With what judgment you judge, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. You stories told, Bought a man back in the days where you would go to the grocery store and you would get a pound of something.

And they would measure out that pound by a weight, a scale, a pound of something else. If you took a pound or what was supposed to be a pound and you measured out another substance by that pound, but the first pound was inaccurate. Would you ever get an a pound on the other side? No you wouldn’t. So the stories told of a man who ran a grocery store.

He was there. He was selling a pound of butter. He had a pound of sugar over on the other side and he’d measure out pound of butter by the pound of sugar. Maybe I’ve got it backwards. Maybe it was pounds and pounds of sugar. He was measuring out by the butter, but either way, he’d measure one out by the other.

Someone Came to the realization that his measurement was wrong. And so they asked if he could have what he wanted to purchase measured by the same measurement. And he said, no, because he knew his measurement was wrong. He had been dishonest the entire time. Jesus is saying how you judge others. God will judge you. This follows on the heels of chapter six,

where Jesus said, the one who will not forgive will not be forgiven. As a matter of fact, this is very much the same statement in, in that sense, Jesus is saying, if you will not forgive others, their debts that they owe you, your heavenly father will not forgive your debts. Now Jesus is saying, if you judge others improperly,

by the same measure that you judge them, God’s going to measure you because here’s the reality. When you judge others in an unrighteous way, you never desire to be measured the same way. Nobody wants to be measured the way they measure others. If they’re not judging righteous judgment, preacher pointed out. Sometimes we get involved in a conversation. Somebody starts talking about somebody else,

and maybe we’re on bad terms with that somebody else. And they’re praising that person. And we immediately, in our mind, we start to think of all the things wrong that we dislike about that person. And maybe we open our mouths and we start bringing the, the view of that person down. Here’s this other person they’re complimenting them. We’re we’re,

we’re bringing down the view of that person by pointing out their faults, as well as their good attributes. You said when we do that, It’s not because we’re judging righteous judgment. It’s because we’re measuring them by the wrong standard. When we hear someone talking about someone who we like, and we’re on good terms with, and we start think of and pile in on all the good attributes that we know about that person.

And we start lifting them up quite often, we’re not judging righteous judgment because it’s a bad habit. We get into where we want to lift up the people we like and bring down the people we don’t IR, regardless of the reality that everyone who has good traits also has what bad traits. And if you don’t believe it, Merriam, that’s all I got to say about the matter.

Eventually you’ll figure it out And everybody who’s got bad traits Somewhere in their life has some good ones. Now there are some very evil people who have tried their entire life to stomp out every good trait they have. But Even in the midst of that, they’re somebody they treat well somewhere along the way, maybe their dearly departed mother, but somebody, We need to remember that how we Judge others,

how we speak about others, how we treat others is God is saying, I’m going to measure you the way you’ve measured others Now for a Pharisee, Whoa, that’s a problem because what was there? According to Jesus over Matthew chapter 24, what was their action toward the people and the law? They would find these heavy burdens in the law and bind them and set them upon others.

And then Jesus said they wouldn’t even do what. Wow. Neven use their littlest pinky to lift those burdens themselves. And yet would hold others accountable for something they’d never hold themselves accountable to. Okay. He goes on to say, and why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye. I’ve seen some,

some artists renditions of this and, and you, you can’t help, but be amused at the visual picture. Jesus is his painting here. Here’s a man who walks up to another man and he says, hold still, you got a speck in your eye. Wally’s got a, two-by-four sticking out of his own eye. What’s the problem. He’s so busy looking at the other person’s imperfection and at the same time,

unwilling to deal with his own blatant imperfection. Okay. How can you say to your brother, let me remove the speck from your eye and look applying is in your own eye hypocrite First Remove the plank from your own eye. And then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Jesus, by the way. All right. So we’re,

we’re in we’re in instance, number one, where Jesus requires judging, we’re going to bring this up. It’s going to be the entire focus of, of the chapter, but we are absolutely going to bring this up all the way along the way. Does Jesus at any point in the, the whole illustration say that there wasn’t actually a speck in the brothers.

I know as a matter of fact said, you deal with yourself first with the plank in your own eye first. So you can see to help your brother who has a speck in his eye, who raise your hand. If you’ve ever had something in your eye, you couldn’t get out on your own. You needed help. How inferior infuriating is it to have something in your eye and you’re trying to get it out.

You can’t get it out. You can’t see your, what your eyes watering, everything stops until you can get that thing out of your eye. So imagine you go up to your brother and you say, help me get this thing out. Like he says, I’ll get it out of your Island. You look at it and he’s got a Boulder sticking out of his eye.

That’s not the person you need help in you at the moment they got to fix their problem. First Jesus requires number one, the judging of self, okay? The person with the plank in their eye must judge themselves. Or they’ll never know they have a plank in their Hi. He’s not talking about literal wood here. He’s talking about spiritual matters. He said,

you first judge, you, Jesus commands judgment. He commands judging ourselves first. Then Jesus commands judging your brother because you are there to determine and extract a speck from your brother’s eye. Now, how are you supposed to determine the difference between a pupil and a speck? I hope you have some judging capabilities. Otherwise your brother’s eye is in trouble. If you don’t know the difference between the eyeball and a speck,

get out of the eye, leave it alone, let somebody else do it. They need to know the difference. Jesus commands judging the difference between a foreign object that’s causing a problem and the eye that belongs there, but let’s go on. He then says, hypocrite first remove the plank from your own eye. And then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

By the way, I’m just going to throw in here. Number, number three, Jesus says we need to be able to judge the difference between a and an honest person. Cause he did. He said, and you can, the person who has a glaring problem with their own life, who judges someone else with a tiny problem in their life. He said,

you could judge them to be a hypocrite And you can know it. Okay. Well then he goes on to say, do not give what is Holy to the dogs, Okay? Nor cast your pearls before swine, unless they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you in pieces. How are you supposed to determine what is Holy and what Is not according to God’s word,

Be Holy for, I am Holy in the context of, of the Jewish life. There, there were things that were consecrated to God. The, the, the, the, the instruments they used in the tabernacle Leviticus, chapter 10. What was it that the two sons of li of Aaron did that caused God to send down fire from heaven. They took that,

which was profane, and they put it on a Holy altar. They use profane fire. They did not use Holy fire to light the Holy altar. Now, How are you going to determine the difference between Holy objects and profane or common objects if you don’t Judge? So Jesus requires the judgment judgment between that, which is Holy and that which isn’t, but he not only requires that we judge between that,

which is Holy and that, which isn’t. He also requires that we discern or judge the difference between one who is a good person and what he describes as a doll. No, Jesus has just said, I’m going to hand you that, which is Holy, that you determine who to give it to. And he says, now you make a judgment about who to give it to,

and don’t give it to dogs. And he says, do you know, there’s a difference between a Pearl And a stone And having judged the difference between a Pearl and a stone do not cash the peril before a swine, which means you have to judge the difference between a swine and something is in the swine. And we got in the point yet, we’re not three verses removed from judge not.

And he commanded judgment up one side down the other. So let us never say, Jesus said, don’t judge for that is the exact opposite of what Jesus is saying. Here. He goes on to say, ask, and it will be given to you seek, and you will find knock, and it will be opened to you. Now he’s just talked about judgment.

He’s just in this whole context, talked about selfishness. He’s just talked about where our heart is, where our treasure is. And he turns around and right after saying, don’t cast your pearls before swine don’t give what is Holy to the dogs. He turns around and says, now ask your father for what you need. Why, Why the change from this to that?

Why the change from selfishness and self-centeredness to, to ask God. And the answer is because he’s not changing the person who asks God for what he needs is first and foremost, a person who admits he needs you don’t ask God for something. If you don’t think you need anything, you don’t ask God for what you think you can supply on your own.

You don’t ask. Now, obviously some people may go through the motions. They may, they have, they’ve been taught, you know, all their lives to pray that God give them something, but they don’t think they that God does anything for them. I, I’m not debating that I’m talking about Jesus is pointing out. Here is someone who recognizes his need for the father and a selfish person.

Doesn’t recognize their need for the father. They do not understand their place before God. So he says, ask, and it will be given to you or asked, and it will be given you seek and you shall find knock. And it shall be opened to you for everyone who asks, receives. And he who seeks finds. And to him who knocks it will be open or what man is there among you who,

if his son asks for bread will give him a stone. Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children? How much more will your father who is in heaven? Give good things to those who ask him there for, he has said these things ask,

seek, knock, And then use God as the example or sorry, fathers, as the example of, of, of, of the perfect father to make this point. This has been what he’s been drawing you forward to for the entire time there, for whatever you want men to do to you do also to them for this is the law and the prophets chapter five chapter six first part of chapter seven are the discourse of Jesus on the old Testament.

And the view that the law was given to the Israelites because of how good the Israelites were and that they were the descendants of Abraham and that they were God’s people and that they deserved the promised land and that they should be considered closer to God than everybody else. And Jesus said, whatever you would, that men should do to you go do it to them.

And that went against every thing. The Pharisees taught about the Gentiles, everything, it went against, everything that the Jewish society had created as a bubble of power for the leadership of their society. When a teacher walked through the street, you were to recognize them. When you walked through the street, you think the teacher needed to recognize you. No,

Jesus said whatever you would, that men do to you, you do to them. And yet you would have a priest or a Levi or a teacher or a Pharisee. They wouldn’t speak to a woman, not in public, whatever you would that men should do to you. Do you to them all through this text, Jesus has been focusing on serving self or serving God.

And when we treat others the way we want to be treated, We can serve God. When we think others should treat us the way we want to be treated. And there’s a big difference when we think others should treat us the way we want to be treated, that’s not serving God that’s serving South. This lesson would follow Jesus’ ministry to the night of his betrayal,

where in the upper room, in the midst of his disciples, arguing about who would be the greatest in the kingdom, Jesus puts on a servant’s towel and washes his disciples, Pete, Whatever you would that men should do to you do ye even so under them. And we fall so short of that. So often I’m going to say one more thing about what happened in the capital of the day.

If Matthew chapter seven verse 12 was being followed, it never would have happened. Enter, okay. By the narrow gate enter wall. What’d he just tell you to seek his kingdom. So what are you going to enter the kingdom? Seek first, the kingdom, go back to chapter five. We’ll find it here in a minute. Where’s the statement,

except your righteousness exceed. There you go. Verse 20. Well let’s Well, let’s go back to verse 17. Do you not think that I came to, or do you think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets? I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill assuredly, I say to you until heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one till shall by no means pass from the law until all is fulfilled.

Whoever therefore breaks. One of the least of these commandments and teaches men. So shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven for Isaiah and to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will, by no means enter the kingdom Well happened.

Jesus is not talking In the immediate context. In the immediate situation to the church church doesn’t exist yet. He hasn’t established it. Yeah. Yeah. He’s talking to the Jews, The Jews who were waiting for the Messiah and waiting for his kingdom and they were waiting for the one who was gonna sit on the throne of David. And they were waiting on the one who Moses had prophesied would be a prophet like in the,

him, they were waiting for the kingdom. And Jesus said, unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you won’t enter the kingdom of heaven. And then he says, you got to get rid of your self interest and seek first the kingdom. And then he says, you stopped judging others and used our doing the others, which you’d want done to you.

And then he says, enter by the narrow gate. Four wide is the gate. And broad is the way that leads to destruction. And there are many who go in by it because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life. And there are few who find it. He’s talking about the kingdom. He’s, It’s talking about entrance into his kingdom.

And he said, you want to get in my kingdom. You’re not going to fall in. You’re not going to get there by accident. You’re not going to take a leisurely, walk down the road and get in my kingdom. What’d have to do, to get into The kingdom of Israel, Pop out a girl out of mama’s womb. That’s it?

Zero effort And zero control over whether you or not, you started there. Jesus said, no, my kingdom and few there be that. Find it. He then says, I can’t resist. He said we had to judge between a Broadway in a narrow way. Didn’t he? Yeah. There’s one more judgment. He done bilayer of false prophets. Oh no.

Well now we’ve got to judge between true profits and false profits, all this judging going on in Matthew chapter seven. What are we going to do with it? He says, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Now we’ve got to judge between sheep and wool. Oh, you will. Oh, you will.

We’ll know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles even so every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears, bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and nor can a banned tree bear. Good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Therefore by their fruits, you will know them. Not only said judge them. He said how he said, you judge them by their Fruit, whatever they produce. If they’re producing people who don’t obey God, there you go. If they’re teaching them to not obey God, There you go. You don’t need any more than that. We’re supposed to know the difference between good fruit and bad fruit.

We’re supposed to know the difference between a good tree and a band tree. And we’re supposed to know the difference between a true teacher and a false prophet. Oh, but God said not to judge, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven. Oh, so we are talking about entering the kingdom of heaven. He said,

Lord, Lord, or everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. But he who does the will of my father, who is in heaven, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name.

And then I will declare to them. I never knew you depart from me. You who practice lawlessness. So the fruit by which judge As first and foremost, whether or not they do what God says, if they don’t do what God says, it doesn’t matter what else they do. Hey, look, I can cast out demons, but you’re not obeying God.

I’m doing many wonderful works, but you’re not obeying God. Therefore, Whoever hears these things of mine and does them, I would liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house. And it did not fall for, it was founded on the rock.

But everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house and it fell and great was its fall. And so it was when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at his teaching for.

He taught them as one, having a foresty and not as the scribes, They listened to him and said, I never, I never heard the law taught this way. What a shame. Cause it’s not. Cause it’s not in there. You can go back everything. Jesus said all the way from Matthew five, verse three, all the way to the end of Matthew,

chapter seven. And you can go find it in the old ball, either in word for word or principle for principle, you can find everywhere A bit of it, but they wouldn’t teach it And they needed to do better. And so do we All right? That’s chapter seven Problems. Joan Springer had a bad day today, according to her husband. And he usually is here,

but I think things were rough enough at home that he decided to stay. Jessica Dale is with us tonight, but I think basically she too is holding her own. And as is ed Richardson, Cheryl and Eric’s L Sheriff’s dad and Eric’s, father-in-law Janie, Morlin knee surgery and therapy is going well, but she gets very tired easily, but she’s doing quite well.

Alicia and Maddie bond have a sinus infection that turned out to be negative for the COVID virus. And lucky had a pacemaker put in, I think yesterday had a pretty rough night last night, but I talked to him today about noon or so. And he’s he’s doing well. And Taylor Wilson, if you remember, or were here a few years ago,

she used to worship with us. She’s Dorothy, Wilson’s granddaughter. She and her mom, Shelly and stepdad, Todd all have the COVID virus and they’re feeling a bit better and they’re doing okay. Shane has not been tested, but is showing no signs of COVID Noah Olsen, our, a student that worships here with us, he has the virus. So we certainly need to keep him in our prayer.

And we need to remember Barbara Dillard. She’s going to have a surgery on a rotator cuff tomorrow. So these are the people that I know about. And these are the people that we need to need to remember. Our song leader tonight will be Michael Dale. Hearne has the devotional and Terry would play. We’ll have the closing prayer. Thank you all for being here.

Let’s turn to song. Number 578. We will glorify 578. Once you get there, you can put your finger in it. Our song of invitation will be number 943, nine 43. We will glorify. We will glorify the King of Kings. We will glorify the<inaudible>. We will glorify the Lord of Lords who is gray it’s<inaudible> and majesty.

We will<inaudible> we will wash up him and righteous. Nah, we will wash up him. Oh,<inaudible> King of Kings<inaudible><inaudible> Lord of Lords, who is the gray it’s Luke chapter nine. Jesus asks in verse 18. Who do the crowds say that? I, So they answered and said John, the Baptist, but some say Elijah and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.

And he said to them, but who do you say that I am Peter answered and said the Christ of God. And he strictly warned them and commanded them to tell them this to no one saying the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised. The third day, verse 23 says,

then he said to them all, if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me for whoever desires to save. His life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will save it for what profit is it to a man. If he gains the whole world and is himself destroyed or lost.

But then he makes an interesting statement. One that we need to be careful about. We need to be careful about how we think about God’s word and our conviction concerning God’s word, because he says for whoever is ashamed of me and my words of him, the son of man will be ashamed when he comes in his own glory and in his fathers and of the Holy angels.

But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of God. Some people go through this book And they find some parts. They like, and they hold onto them real tight. And then they find some parts. They just can’t get behind. And they might act as though they’re not there. But then they might just say,

well, I just see it a little different. Or they might say, well, that’s not what my mama said. Or they might say well, but my preacher said, Jesus said, if you’re ashamed of me, I have my words. Then when I come in my glory, I’ll be ashamed of you. How do you feel about God’s word?

How do you feel about what God in it? Do you agree with it? Are there some parts you just kind of skip over because you don’t really like the way he put it. Maybe you don’t really like the way he, what he said about one subject or another. We don’t have that. Right? We can choose to do it. But Jesus said,

you can have me and my word or you can’t have me. Where are we this evening? We asked, Well, what did Jesus say? We had to do? We ask it about salvation. We would find the answer. Jesus said, except you believe that I am he’ll die in your sins. We’ve got to believe in Christ, But he didn’t stop there.

He said he, that believes and is baptized shall be saved. He, the believer of not shall be damned. Some people will say, see if you don’t believe you’ll be damned, but he didn’t say, if you don’t, if you’re not baptized, you won’t be damned. If you don’t believe you won’t be baptized. He also said That he was going to go to the cross and it was necessary for him to go to the cross that repentance and remission of sins might be preached to the entire world.

He said, we had to hear, because that’s the point of preaching. He said, we had to believe. Cause without it we’ll die in our sins, He said that repentance was the message that needed to be preached to the entire world. So repentance probably has something to do with it also said, you’ve got to take me. And he said,

he’s coming in his glory and that’s the picture of a King. And he said, some of you standing here in that day, some of his disciples right then and there would see his kingdom come with power, Which means he’s raining. And if we’re not willing to confess allegiance to him as King, we can’t have him. But he then did say he the believe with and is baptized shall be saved.

So what do we have to do here? Believe repent, confess be baptized. Yes. You also said he, that hears these sayings of mine and does them. I will like an unto a wise man who builds his house upon the rock. And he Here’s the sayings of mine and does not do them. I will like an undo, a fool who builds his house upon the sand.

So it’s not enough to hear believe repent, confess and be baptized and think our ticket is stamped to go to heaven because we then have to live what he said day in and day out. Because just the verse before it, he said, pick up your cross daily and follow me. So are we doing that in our own lives? If you have need of the invitation,

because that’s not your status in life, it’s available to you, you have needed the invitation for any reason, it’s available to you. If you have a need, why not come forward as we stand? And as we sing<inaudible><inaudible> O U a. So that’s<inaudible><inaudible> dude.<inaudible> us, dude. You know,<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> here’s each time you<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> your,

ah,<inaudible> my jeez us dude.<inaudible><inaudible> and then he<inaudible> Let us pray. Heavenly father, we thank you Lord, for the opportunity and the privilege to be in your house tonight, to learn more of your word, Lord, Lord, we thank you for the blessings that you give us every day. And some Lord that we don’t realize,

but we still need to be thankful for them. Lord, be with the ones that are sick, just bring them back into our church, family, Lord, to worship with us and just be with us as we leave tonight and just keep us safe and bring us back at the next appointed time. These things will ask you in your precious name. Amen.

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What Happens When Two People Marry? – Admonition 323

In Admonition Podcast by Web Administrator

Ephesians 5:31 – For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
 Transcript:
 
 What happens in the life of a man and a woman when they get married? We read in Ephesians, chapter five, For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 
 
 They come together and they become one person, not two separate people. Just the same way that a sinner who becomes a Christian is added to the body of Christ. He becomes one with Christ.
 
 For more from the Collierville Church of Christ, visit www.colliervillecoc.org.

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What Happens When Two People Marry?

In Admonition, Podcasts by Aaron Cozort

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:31

Description:

Ephesians 5:31 – For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
Transcript:

What happens in the life of a man and a woman when they get married? We read in Ephesians, chapter five, For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

They come together and they become one person, not two separate people. Just the same way that a sinner who becomes a Christian is added to the body of Christ. He becomes one with Christ.

For more from the Collierville Church of Christ, visit www.colliervillecoc.org.


Details About Admonition

Subscribe to Admonition on Youtube:
Subscribe on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3syE1ogS5LPeEsnAfgnYrg?sub_confirmation=1
Sign up for a daily devotional by Email: https://cozort.org/free
Leave a comment for the host of Admonition: https://cozort.org/contact

Watch more of Aaron’s videos about Salvation, the Gospel, the good news, the gospel message salvation, and in-depth studies of the books of the Bible by visiting https://cozort.org, and Collierville church of Christ.

This video is a production of Collierville Christian Radio, the Collierville church of Christ, and the Gospel Broadcasting Network.

Aaron Cozort is the preacher for the Collierville church of Christ.

The Collierville church of Christ meets on Sundays morning and afternoon at 575 Shelton Road, Collierville, TN 38017.
To learn more about the Collierville church of Christ, visit colliervillecoc.org

Not currently a subscriber to Admonition? Sign up for this daily video devotional by Email: www.colliervillecoc.org/daily or www.cozort.org/free.

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How Should A Husband Love His Wife? – Admonition 322

In Admonition Podcast by Web Administrator

Ephesians 5:28-29 – So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
 
 Transcript:
 
 How should a husband love his wife? Ephesians, chapter five, says he ought to love her as he loves himself.
 
 We don’t hate ourselves, or at least we shouldn’t. We ought to love ourselves, but we ought to love those who are close to us, those who are our spouses, as much as we love ourselves. 
 
 Christ did this for the church. He loved it so much, He died for it. Do you love your spouse as much as you love yourself?
 
 For more from the Collierville Church of Christ, visit www.colliervillecoc.org.

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How Should A Husband Love His Wife?

In Admonition, Podcasts by Aaron Cozort

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:28-29

Description:

Ephesians 5:28-29 – So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.

Transcript:

How should a husband love his wife? Ephesians, chapter five, says he ought to love her as he loves himself.

We don’t hate ourselves, or at least we shouldn’t. We ought to love ourselves, but we ought to love those who are close to us, those who are our spouses, as much as we love ourselves.

Christ did this for the church. He loved it so much, He died for it. Do you love your spouse as much as you love yourself?

For more from the Collierville Church of Christ, visit www.colliervillecoc.org.


Details About Admonition

Subscribe to Admonition on Youtube:
Subscribe on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3syE1ogS5LPeEsnAfgnYrg?sub_confirmation=1
Sign up for a daily devotional by Email: https://cozort.org/free
Leave a comment for the host of Admonition: https://cozort.org/contact

Watch more of Aaron’s videos about Salvation, the Gospel, the good news, the gospel message salvation, and in-depth studies of the books of the Bible by visiting https://cozort.org, and Collierville church of Christ.

This video is a production of Collierville Christian Radio, the Collierville church of Christ, and the Gospel Broadcasting Network.

Aaron Cozort is the preacher for the Collierville church of Christ.

The Collierville church of Christ meets on Sundays morning and afternoon at 575 Shelton Road, Collierville, TN 38017.
To learn more about the Collierville church of Christ, visit colliervillecoc.org

Not currently a subscriber to Admonition? Sign up for this daily video devotional by Email: www.colliervillecoc.org/daily or www.cozort.org/free.

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What Kind of Church Does Christ Want?

In Admonition, Podcasts by Aaron Cozort

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:25-26

Description:

Ephesians 5:25-26 – Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

Transcript:

What kind of church does Christ want? What kind of congregation does Christ want your church to be?

In Ephesians, chapter five, we read that he wants a church that’s submissive as a wife is to a husband. He wants a church that is glorious.

He wants a church that is without spot or wrinkle, verse 27, or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. Christ wants a church that’s been washed in the blood, and that’s holy and sanctified.

Does that describe your church? Dig a little deeper in God’s word and learn more today.

For more from the Collierville Church of Christ, visit www.colliervillecoc.org.


Details About Admonition

Subscribe to Admonition on Youtube:
Subscribe on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3syE1ogS5LPeEsnAfgnYrg?sub_confirmation=1
Sign up for a daily devotional by Email: https://cozort.org/free
Leave a comment for the host of Admonition: https://cozort.org/contact

Watch more of Aaron’s videos about Salvation, the Gospel, the good news, the gospel message salvation, and in-depth studies of the books of the Bible by visiting https://cozort.org, and Collierville church of Christ.

This video is a production of Collierville Christian Radio, the Collierville church of Christ, and the Gospel Broadcasting Network.

Aaron Cozort is the preacher for the Collierville church of Christ.

The Collierville church of Christ meets on Sundays morning and afternoon at 575 Shelton Road, Collierville, TN 38017.
To learn more about the Collierville church of Christ, visit colliervillecoc.org

Not currently a subscriber to Admonition? Sign up for this daily video devotional by Email: www.colliervillecoc.org/daily or www.cozort.org/free.

01-03-2021 – Live Stream – God’s Definition of Faithful (Part 1)

In Live Streams, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

I watch disagrees with the clock, but you know what? We start based upon my watch. I get extra time. So ha ha Just got to convince Tommy that we start off by my watch and we end by that clock. That’s that’s the key there We are in Matthew chapter six, Appreciate Michael filling in for me while I was gone and got a chance to listen to most of the class.

He did a good job. Appreciate that. We’ll have a few things to say about Matthew five, as we, as we get into chapter six, as we go through the chapter, but we won’t do very much talking about it simply because otherwise we won’t get through chapter six, Let’s begin with a word of prayer, Our gracious father in heaven. We come before you thankful for the day.

You’ve granted to us for the life that we have, the opportunities that we have to serve you. We pray that you watch over us and help us to always strive to be faithful to you in all things, to care for you and for your kingdom and for your word above all the riches in the world, help us to understand the value of eternal things over physical things.

As we begin this new year, we are mindful of the year that we have just gone through. And we’re mindful of the opportunities that we’ve had, the areas where we’ve fallen short in the areas where we still need to grow. We pray that is we go through this next year, that we will focus better on serving you each and every day that we will always seek to be faithful to you no matter what comes,

no matter the difficulties that lie ahead or the blessings that lie ahead, may we always remember to focus on you? We ask that you forgive us. When we sin and fall short of your glory, we pray that you be with those who are dealing with illness and injury and difficulty at this time. And especially those who are dealing with coronavirus and loss of loved ones.

Those in the hospital, all this, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Matthew chapter six. The chapter begins with take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them. Every time I read that I cannot help. But think about all the businesses you walk into, especially large corporations that are always posting up on the wall,

how much money they give Every Walmart you’ve ever walked into how much money they give to local charities, how much money they Amazon’s always talking about how much money they give to this, give to that. And yet Jesus Said, take Heed that you do not do your charitable deeds Before men. This is not a condemnation of here’s someone in need and here’s someone passing by,

but there’s a third person over here. Who’s a spectator and Jesus has no, no, no, no, no. Don’t help that person in need while the spectators present that that’s not what this is about. This also isn’t about the idea that no one can know what good things have been done. You go forward to second Corinthians chapter eight and nine,

where Paul is writing to the church at Corinth. And Paul will use the willingness of the church of Corinth to towards the poor Jewish Christians that are undergoing famine and difficulties and persecutions from their own nation. And he’ll use the willingness of the church at Corinth to give towards that effort, to encourage the churches of Macedonia to also give now, wait a minute,

is Paul contradicting Jesus because he’s taking what one church is doing and he’s telling another church about it. No, here’s the idea Jesus is saying and is speaking concerning motivation. This particular idea is more closely akin to what we find over in the book of acts. Turn to acts chapter acts chapter five. I believe it is Beginning in verse 32, actually acts chapter four,

acts chapter four, verse 32. Now the multitudes of those who believed were of one heart and one soul, neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common and with great power, the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord. Jesus and great grace was upon the mall nor was there anyone among them who lacked for all who had,

who were possessors of land or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold and laid them at the apostles feet. And they distributed to each as anyone had need. And Joseph<inaudible>, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles, which is translated the son of encouragement, a Levi of the country of Cyprus having land sold it and brought the money and laid it at the Apostle’s feet.

Now, when Barnabas brought this money that he had, because he sold this land and he laid it at the Apostle’s feet. Did he tell everybody who was at the room now clear the room? I don’t want anybody. Nobody can see what I’m doing. No. As a matter of fact, news concerning what he had done spread throughout the Christians. And we know that it did because you pick up in chapter five,

verse one, but a certain man named Anna Niaz and Safira his wife sold a possession and he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it and brought a certain part and laid it at the Apostle’s feet. Now we’ve probably all gone through this at one time before in, in our lives and in our studies, but there was nothing wrong with the fact that Anna Safira sold something and only gave part of the proceeds.

As a matter of fact, Peter will point out over here a little later. I think it’s verse eight. Peter answered her. Tell me whether you sold the land for so much. She said yes, for so much. Then Peter said to her, how is it that you have agreed together to test the spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried,

your husband are at the door and they will carry you out. If you go back just back in verse four, after Anna Niaz comes and lies to, to Peter and the Holy spirit concerning what he has done, we read in verse four while it remained, that is the possession, the land while it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold,

was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God, because what Anna NEI and Safira did is they brought the possession. They brought the proceeds and instead of giving all of it, they claimed they gave all of it, but kept some of it back. And so in Doing this,

what’s your seeing, what would we get out of the text is they wanted to be known and have the reputation like Barnabas of being these charitable givers, Without the actual sacrifice of giving everything. Barnabas take took everything that he profited from, from the sale of the land and gave all of it. They wanted the notoriety of giving all of it without actually giving all of it.

What was the problem? Their charitable action was being done out of selfish. NIS. Does that mean they had no care, no concern at all, for those who were poor, those who were struggling, I don’t know, but the reality is they lied. The reality is they lied and they had a motivation for doing it. And that motivation was pride and selfishness.

And self-interest the exact opposite of what you’re supposed to have when you’re trying to be benevolent towards others. So Jesus begins Matthew chapter six, by saying, take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you,

As the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may have glory from men, a Shirley, I say to you, they have Reward so often we’ll see, great Big fan and all of this being done to, to show how benevolent some and quite often it’s some very rich person is by doing something in view of their riches, small for someone who’s in great need yet.

There’s great fanfare. And then the news is going to cover it. And we’re going to tell everybody I think about it. Jesus said, don’t do that. Do what needs to be done Without drawing attention to the fact that you’re Doing what needs to be done. He goes on to say, but when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.

That your charitable deed may be in secret. And your father who sees in secret will himself reward you. You openly, we don’t need to take this passage to extremes was Told of one congregation hears ago That they had the, the giving plate behind the curtain, Reach in with one hand and put in your offering. But she couldn’t take the other hand and put it inside the curtain because then the left hand would know what the right hand Was doing.

Somehow I think there Was something disconnected right around Here. Okay. This is an analogy. Okay. This is a point that Jesus is making concerning one, striving to being known for something. Instead of doing something, recognizing who they are, They really are. And what I, I mean by that is when a person gives recognizing that what they’re giving doesn’t belong to them.

It belongs to God. Then why should they get any recognition for having given it? Hey, look, I gave what doesn’t belong to me to somebody else Now glorify me. No, You are a steward of What you have. The question is, are you a faithful steward or not? And so Jesus makes the point that your charitable deed may be in secret.

And your father who sees in secret will reward You openly the emphasis of this entire passage, Which will lead all the way till the end of this chapter is do what you do so that you are obedient and faithful to God and leave the rest Up to him. If God wants you to be recognized, then God will make sure you’re recognized. If God wants you to be exalted,

then God can take care of exalting you. If God wants you to be blessed because of what you do, then God can take care of blessing you. The difference is in verses one through four, Jesus is accusing individuals of being more concerned about their own situation. Being more concerned about their own blessings, their own rewards, Then serving God. And Jesus said,

you’ve got it in the wrong order. Don’t neglect doing good, but serve God First and allow him to take care of you verse five. And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites For, they love to pray standing in the synagogues. It’s interesting. He keeps referencing hypocrites here. If you go back to chapter five, he will say,

accept your righteousness, exceed the righteousness of who the Pharisees you shall by no Means enter the kingdom Of God. And now he’s gone through over and over and over again and said, hypocrites, hypocrites. He doesn’t, he hasn’t said Pharisees, Pharisees, but he keeps describing the positions Of the Pharisees and the priests and the teachers of the law. They’re the ones who stand up in front of the synagogue.

They’re the ones who get the trumpets blown in the synagogue and, and out in the street, whenever they do good deeds, they’re the ones He’s Contrasting righteousness against. He said, you can either be like them. You can be like the people who are always tooting their own horn, or You can be righteous, which you can’t be both. He goes on to say,

when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites for, they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the street that they may be seen by men. Again, the thing under discussion, the thing being talked about is the attitude Food of self That they may be seen by as Shirley, I say to you, they have their reward,

but you, when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your father who was in the secret place. And your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Is this Jesus saying, no, the only place we ever need to pray is in a room all by ourselves with the door. No. And yet what Jesus speaks of is an attitude.

That Is one that we need to be cautious about, that we are not doing, Doing something for pride or recognition growing up when I was a, what I would still do, I consider to be a boy when I was younger, teenage years. And around that time, you know, if in the congregation where I grew up, if you got up and led a prayer,

if you got up and, and led singing, if you got up and served on Lord’s table, there were going to be seven or eight people who came up to you afterwards, whether you did a good job or a terrible job who told you how good of a job you did? Why were they doing Encouragement? They were attempting to bolster the attitude Dude of service Way to against the attitude of Nervousness and shyness.

And so Well-meaning and, and very spiritual and very mindful of thoughtful individuals will come up and say, you did a great, Good job, keep it up. Now there’s a Benefit and a potential negative to that Because you Can end up having an individual who eventually only serves for the compliments they get For the Things that they get told at for the gratification that comes by doing it.

And you, you might’ve seen this happen a few times in, in other areas of life, somebody is known for doing something. They do it all the time. They do it on a regular basis, and they’re always talked about for doing it. And then for whatever reason, time and, and forgetfulness, Somebody doesn’t mention what it is that they did.

Yeah. And the next time the opportunity rolls around. They don’t do it. And the next time the opportunity rolled around, they don’t do it. And you go and ask what, what happened? Oh, well so-and-so or nobody appreciates me. Nobody ever thanks me for it. They’ve been thanked for 30 years for doing it, but that hasn’t built up quite enough,

ego to last for the next 10 years of not being thanked for doing it. What’s the problem. The problem is they started at some point, not saying they did it the entire time, but at some point they stopped doing it because it was the thing that needed to be done. And they started doing it because they were getting recognized for doing it.

And we need to be careful about that at the same time. Let me say unequivocally, especially with young individuals striving to do something that’s outside their comfort zone. We should definitely encourage them for doing so, but he says, and when you pray, verse seven, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do for, they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Therefore do not be like them for your father knows the things you have need of before you ask him, this passage always reminds me of a lie. He’s there on the mountain with the Fort 100 profits veil. And they’re, they’re crying out and dancing around and throwing themselves around and cutting themselves and trying to get bailed, light the sacrifice on fire and with all their many words and all this time,

they spend doing it until they’re exhausted and basically collapsed on the ground. They don’t get anything to happen. And Elijah prayed. He’s what, after dousing the whole altar with water after all of the things that praise, once fire comes down from heaven and sets whole thing on fire, was it the long prayer that he got? Well, it was the fact that God knew what he needed before he ever opened his mouth.

And so he says, therefore, do not be like them for your father knows the things you have need of before you ask interesting point, he’s just lowered the hypocrites, the Pharisees, the Sadducees describes the teachers to the same level as the pagan. Okay? He said, this is what the heathen do. They’re vain repetitions over and over again, thinking they’ll accomplish something.

And these hypocrites are no better than them in this manner. Therefore pray our father in heaven, hallowed, be your name, your kingdom, come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread and forgive us our debts. As we forgive our debtors, sometimes we have a mentality of forgive us our debts,

and then we’ll forgive our debtors. Take, take care of me first, but Jesus wants us to go the other direction. Jesus wants us and all all through this passage. This is, this whole section is about this idea. Do for others, do for God before you do for you do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen. There is there’s. There’s just far more that could be said about those verses than I have time to even dwell on. So we’re, we’re going to leave that for another time. He goes then to this, he says for, if you forgive men, their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you out of this prayer. He focuses on forgiveness.

They seek the wiping away of debts in a country that has spent more money in the last year than we spent from the government’s perspective in the last 10 years, which one costs more the entire national debt or one souls sins, which one costs more one soul sin, because you could get enough gold to pay off the national debt. It exists somewhere in the world,

but there’s not enough gold in all the vaults, in all the places in all the world to pay for one person sins, forgive us our debts. As we forgive Our debtors for, if you forgive men, their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you the opposite. It is also true, but if you do not forgive men, their trespasses,

neither will your father forgive your trust. Facets. John would write to the church in the first century and he would tell them that the blood of Christ continually cleanses their sins. But then he’ll remind them If any man says he has no sin, He’s a liar. And the truth is not in it. He wants it to be clear that there’s no one who stands on the pinnacle of all the rest of the church,

untouched by sin, untouched by transgression and standing there alone saying, I don’t have to forgive anybody because nobody has Forgive me because I’m perfect. But as we look at this, as we back up, as he’s talking about forgiveness, what is he really talking about? Who is the person who will not forgive someone else, a hypocrite, a person who’s more interested in themselves than the other person.

The person who will not forgive Is not the person who’s been so maligned. They Possibly forgive. No, no, no, no. That’s not who it is. Person who will not forgive is the person who has so lost. The view of their own needs, Needs that they no longer care for the needs of others. All through this passage, All through this text,

Jesus Has been talking about the, The relationship we have towards our selves And How it affects the relationship we have with everyone, Including God, Because the person who is so filled with pride, so filled with indignation, so filled with themselves. So filled with selfishness that they will not forgive. Jesus Says you have condemned yourself because if you won’t forgive God,

won’t forgive you. Moreover, when you fast do not be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to be fasting assuredly. I say to you, they have their reward, but you, when you fast anoint your head and wash your face so that you do not appear to be, to appear to men,

to be fasting, but to your father who is in the secret place and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. He’s not changed discussions. He’s not changed topics the entire time, all going all the way back into the discussion in chapter six, verse one about charitable deeds. He’s not changed topics at all. He’s just applied it to different areas.

He’s applied it to charitable deeds and giving and helping others. He’s applied it to prayer. He’s applied it to forgiveness. He’s now going to apply it to fasting question. Is there any place actually, let me, let me back up one question before I jump ahead of the horse here, what is fasting doing without something? And generally in scripture, it’s specifically doing without what food and or drink liquids or,

or, or solids. Okay. Sometimes it’s just one. Sometimes it’s, it’s both. When Jesus fasted in the wilderness, was it him fasting from food and drink? It have to be just food. How long did he fast 40 days. Can you go that long without any liquids? Nope. 70% water. About that time. You’re around 50% and you’re dead.

All right. Not going to happen. But when Satan came and tempted him, what did he say? Turn this water into earth. He started turning this stone into water bread, turn, turn this stone into bread. Depending upon the circumstance. Sometimes it was a complete, fast from everything. It was, it was quite literally the idea of, and this was generally connected to morning,

but it was the idea of withholding really anything from yourself. This is not something we in America tend to do on a regular basis. And some, I actually know some people who have fasted. I know some who fast on, on a regular basis. Not that I know personally, but that I have talked to or heard from, but what’s the reason for it.

If biblically speaking, not, not talking about people who were not talking about dieting, what’s the reason biblically speaking for fasting. There’s primarily two reasons. Say what? All right, a focus on spiritual cleansing or repentance quite often, what was the other? Okay. So the, the other main focus that we see in scripture is morning or sorrow, whether that be a,

for a national reason, quite often, you would find individuals fasting because of the wickedness of, of the nation of Israel. But this, this always was, was supposed to be a spiritual discipline of withholding. Your natural needs to focus your mind on something more important. And this isn’t a bad thing. I think sometimes we look at it at fasting and go,

well, we don’t need to do that today. We don’t need to focus our minds on more important things. I don’t know that that’s true. Are we commanded under the new Testament to do it today? No, we’re not commanded to do it, but there was only one occasion under the old Testament where they were commanded to do it. So, you know,

a lot of times we’ll look at the old Testament, all the, you know, that fasting, that’s an old Testament thing. No, it’s not. There’s only one specific area or commandment concerning fasting in the old Testament. The fact that there’s one less under the new Testament doesn’t mean that it’s not something that we ought to participate in. It is the same idea as God says,

be still and know that I am God now because there’s no commandment in the new Testament about being still to recognize that God is who he is. Does that mean that we shouldn’t occasionally take opportunities to shove aside everything else, turn everything off and pay attention to the fact that God is now. That’s a setting aside physical to focus on spiritual. Well, that’s all that fasting is about,

but it is a poignant way of doing it because after you get past a certain number of hours, as most of us are familiar with your stomach starts to remind you it’s time to eat. One of the things that fasting does is every time you’re reminded by your body, that you’re hungry, that is used as a prompt for you to think on that spiritual thing that you’re focusing on.

And so you’re using your natural senses to focus your attention on a spiritual thing. Okay? Here’s the problem with what they were doing. They were fasting the hypocrites, they were fasting and they would do so on a regular basis, they would do so without any specific reason, except that they would, you know, they wouldn’t clean their face. They look like they they’d had a rough rough day,

rough night, rough, whatever. And then they’d go out among the people so that people could go, Oh, he’s fasting. Ah, he’s, he’s really, he’s really spiritual. Jesus said, go wash your face, go clean yourself up. Don’t do a spiritual act. That is between you and God to be seen of men and recognized for your spirituality.

He said, when you do that, your spirituality is all the reward you get. The recognition you get in public is all the reward you’ll ever get because God will not reward you for that. You’ve missed the boat. And so today, if somebody chooses or a congregation chooses or a whole nation chooses to have a time of prayer and fasting, there’s nothing wrong with that,

but needs to be done for the right reason. It needs to be done. Not so that Facebook posts can be put every hour. I’m dying. I’m all I’m going to get through this fast, you know, pointing out to everybody around them, that they’re fasting, do spiritual things for the reason you should do them. And that is your spiritual growth and your connection to God and then teach others to do them,

but don’t do it to be seen by others. So then he says, do not lay up for yourselves, treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves, treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys where thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasure is there. Your heart will be also all throughout the sermon on the Mount.

Jesus will focus on Possessions Over and over and over and over again. Possessions and Jesus will point out that his focus on possessions is not really a focus on possessions. His focus on possessions is a warning to say, focus on spiritual things and not possessions. Yeah. Is there a condemnation given by Jesus against those who have possessions a blanket condemnation? No.

As a matter of fact, it would be those who had possessions that would help Jesus in his ministry. Who’s one person that we might think, or one family we might think of who had possessions that helped Jesus, some siblings, Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Did they have a house? Yes. Did Jesus use their house? Yes, he did.

Did they have enough money to buy a burial plot for their brother when he died? Yes. Did Mary have enough money to give a very expensive gift of anointing Jesus before his death? Yes. That was a family that had possession, But what was more important to the family? Their possession Or Jesus Jesus. One time you see really, and even a little bit of a hint of,

of the opposite is where Jesus confronts Martha, because she’s frustrated that her sister’s not helping her serve. And Jesus points out to her that Mary has chosen the greater Thing, the word of God. And so he says, do not lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven or treasures on the earth. If we set aside, Put, Put in investments, put in savings,

this is, this has nothing to do, zero to do with wise stewardship, nothing to do with it. This has everything to do with where is your heart? And Jesus said, if your heart is there and riches in possessions and clothing and gold and silver and money and all the things he’s about to talk about here at the end of the chapter,

he said, you’ve missed it because that stuff, number one will still be here when you’re gone. And number two may not even stay with you while you’re here because it decades or someone along the way comes in and steals what you have. Yup, absolutely. You know, you, you see, even, you know, the, the perspective of the century ans as,

as Jesus is hanging there on the cross and they’re like, well, let’s, let’s cast lots for the garbage, eh, we we’re, we’re not, not tearing in pieces. It’s it’s interwoven. It’s all one piece. So, you know, we can’t can’t divide it, but he doesn’t need it anymore. You know, he’s got no use words.

So somebody is going to get some use out of it. Okay. Focus on the right thing. Now he’s still not changed discussion at all. He’s moved from charitable deeds to your prayer, to your forgiveness, to your fasting, to your treasure. He’s still talking about the same thing, your relationship to you. Okay? He says, if the lamp of the body is the eye,

if there is, if therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness. How great is that darkness? If your inward person has become corrupted so that all you see becomes evil, what was it that God accused the people in Noah’s day of being people who every thought of their heart was only evil.

Continually. They could see something good and in their mind, they’d turn it to evil. No one can serve two Masters for either, right? He will hate the one and love the other LT will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon, right? The application is money, but the gratification of money is always the gratification of What self Back of all of this.

As selfishness back of all of this is pride back of all of this is a care about self, more than a love of God. Go back to chapter five real quick. And then we’ll read through and pick up the rest of this verse. Three, blessed are the what? Poor in spirit. Verse four, blessed are those who Mourn, But verse five,

blessed are the MI verse six. Blessed are those who, what Hunger And thirst after righteousness. What is that? That is the desire of the Heart. Not For gold, silver possessions recognition, the, the praise of men, but for righteousness, blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the pure in heart. Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake.

All of these things begin first, First in the inward person, a decision to serve God over self. Okay? So He says, verse 25, do not worry. Or therefore I say to you do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink nor about your body. What you will put on is not life more than food in the body.

More than clothing. Look at the birds of the air for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than They, which of you By worrying can add one cubit to his stature. So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin.

And yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not Like one of these. Now, if God, so clothes, the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven. Will he not much more closely? Oh, you of little faith, therefore do not worry Saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink?

Or what shall we wear for after all these things, the Gentiles seek for your heavenly father knows that you have needs Of all these things. Now, as we, as we conclude this, I want to remind you God Israel. And while all of these things draw forward to the church, the audience for the discussion is not the church. The audience for the discussion are the Israelites.

Why do you think he said, you have heard it said, but I say unto you, those are, those are attributes of the law. Those are the aspects of the law that they had abused, misused torn apart to gratify themselves, to do what they wanted to do. And now he sets a contrast between them and the Gentiles, because all along the way,

going all the way back to Deuteronomy chapter six, where Israel is hold hero Israel, the Lord, thy, God is one God and thou shall love the Lord. Thy God, with all thy heart, with all my soul, with all my strength, with all by mind, all the way back there. They were warned that when they got into the land and when they began to,

to glean the fields, they didn’t plant. And when they lived in houses, they didn’t build. And when they took over land that they didn’t do anything to toil to create. They might forget God and forget who put them there to begin with. And Jesus reminds these Israelites and his disciples and us today that God can take nothing and give you everything out of it.

And he can take someone who is nothing and make them everything. So what are we worried about if we will, but learn the lessons of the Israelites to love God first, but seek first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about its own things sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

There’s any one passage. That’s one of the hardest things in all scripture to do. I dare say that’s whatever. Alright, we’ll go through the questions on Wednesday night. As we start our review for chapter seven, I can’t help, but look outside and see the beautiful weather and the beautiful day that we have today and what a beautiful day we have to enjoy.

We are proud to see some visitors with us today. We want you to know that you’re our honored guests. And if you would look in the Pew in front of you and there’s a colored card there, if you’d fill it out and just leave it on, the seat are handed to any one of us and we’ll see to it, that it gets to the right place.

We are indeed proud that you chose to come our way while we’re on that subject. As you came in the door, there is a table with the communion cups. If you have not had the opportunity to pick up a little cup of bread and a little cup of grape juice, be sure and do that. It’s a good time to do it right now.

Go back and get it. And you’ll be prepared for the communion service. When we have that, I’ve got a fair number of announcements. So please bear with me here. We need to remember our sick Joan Springer. She’s doing a little bit better. Robin woods, Jessica Dale. She’s here with us today. Also doing a little bit better. Tory Heinz Ellie,

likewise, I think is at least holding her own Dorothy and Rodale. Wilson are both still suffering from their sorta chronic pains. Janie Marlin is doing much better. And ed Richardson, Shell’s dad has a fractured spine. I think he’s doing about the same as I understand. And we want to keep these people in our prayers. We also have some other people,

relatives that are in need of our prayers. Diane O’Neill’s aunt Jean. Sconiers had a stroke in addition to be hospitalized with congestive heart failure and pneumonia. She’s struggling with her speech since the stroke. And she’s back in a nursing home. Also Diana’s nephew’s wife, Natalie temple found out that she has had a cancer that is spreading and not sure what her treatment plan will be,

but that is being dealt with as we speak also Alicia and Maddie bond have been exposed and are showing symptoms of COVID. I guess they have it. They will have to wait for three to seven days for the results of their tests before they actually know, but I’m sure they’re under quarantine right now. We have several of our members that are suffering from back problems.

Michael stacks is home with back problems. Pam chafing is with us today. She says, her back is getting better. And of course, Gladys Lyles is dealing with, with that as well. So these are other people that we need to keep in our prayers. Alena sharp, Shelly stacks, mother has double pneumonia and Marsa infects you and your head wound.

You know, that Marsa is a very serious bacterial infection that is very resistant to all the drugs, very difficult. So keep them in your prayers. Lucky Hanks is in Methodist over in the woman’s section. We tease him about that a little bit, but he’s had some heart problems and it’s pretty much expected that he will probably be getting a pacemaker put in to keep his rhythm in order.

That’s all of the, Oh, wait a minute. I’ve got one more. Dorothy Wilson got a good result from her stress test and she is perhaps going to be improving here, but her grandchildren, Shane and Taylor, that both used to worship here from time to time are suffering from the Corona virus. I think that’s all of our sick people and we just need,

need to be aware of these people and keep them in our prayers. Don’t forget. Potter’s children’s home pantry item for January is dish soap. You can bring that and put it on the little cart as you come into the four year old on the left-hand side. The men’s business meeting will be next Monday night, not this Monday night, but next Monday a week,

week and a half from now or a week and a day from now. And if you have any agenda items, please sign, put them on the list on the bulletin board or make sure that one of the men get them and we’ll get it to the right place. That’s all the announcements. Thank goodness. And the service today, Michael Dale will be leading our singing.

Terry Sanderson has the opening prayer. The Lord’s supper will be officiated by Eric Halvorson. The sermon with Aaron Cozort and Joe caisson has the closing prayer. Thank you for your attendance. Our opening song this morning will be number one, 144 O worship the King O worship the King. Oh, worship<inaudible> and gray Foley. See here’s Wanda for a shill.

Dan.<inaudible> a billion Dan Splenda and<inaudible><inaudible> it’s dreams from the Hills and send to the play. Hey and sweetly.<inaudible> nah,<inaudible> children de us and<inaudible> and<inaudible> find the two CS turned to the G and a greedy. And<inaudible>. So before our opening prayer will be number 797. Lord, we come before the now Lord, we come before the<inaudible>.

Oh dude.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> to<inaudible> and I know<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> the God pre the<inaudible> free.<inaudible> sorry.<inaudible> Right. Father walked in heaven. We thank to you for this beautiful first day of the week. The opportunity do we have to come together as that children who sang these songs, praise into the,

into worship, they just study a portion of I where we pray that the things that we learned here today will be in a quarter for that wheel. We pray that we can use these things to further that kingdom in this community, we pray that you would be with all of the ones that have been mentioned today to their sick and unable to be with us.

We pray that you would be with all of the ones that are suffering from the COVID virus. The ones that we know from this congregation and friends and all that and all over the world, we pray that you would be with him and comfort him. We pray that you would keep us safe from it. And then we try to do the things that the health people are advising us today.

We pray that you would be with our military people that are away from home. We pray that you keep them safe, comfort their families while they are away. We pray that you would be with the teachers of his congregation, that they continue to teach the truth and to help to save souls in this community. We pray that she would go with us and keep us safe and forgive us when we do wrong.

In Christ’s name, we pray amen. Song to prepare our minds for the Lord. Separate will be number 337. Hallelujah. What a savior man?<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> claim<inaudible><inaudible> Hey man.<inaudible> he used<inaudible><inaudible> blah<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> was he man,<inaudible> be<inaudible> lifted up. Was he too? Ah<inaudible> and<inaudible> ah, ah,<inaudible> when he comes<inaudible> is Ryan some to Bri then a new song.

Well, seeing<inaudible> We now have the opportunity to celebrate the ultimate sacrifice that God made for each and every one of us here. And that is when he sent his son here to live with us amongst here on earth and teach us, but ultimately die on that cross at Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. Join me as we pray for the bread,

God, our father in heaven, we come to you at this time, thanking you for your son. And we know it was a difficult and an ultimate sacrifice that you made for us. The center’s here on earth, but we are so grateful that you made that choice, that your son may hang on at cruel cross at Calvary. And as we prepare to take this bread,

which represents his body, let us remember exactly what that represents. We pray this through your son, Jesus name, amen. Our father. We come to you giving you thanks for everything you have done for us. And as we prepare to partake of this fruit of the vine, which represents your son’s blood, that he shed for our sins, help us to ponder that and truly think about what that means that his blood was shed for us.

He died for us so that we may have our sins forgiven. So we may live with you and heaven. One day, we pray this through your son’s name. Amen. Let me take this opportunity to say a prayer for the offering. God, our father in heaven. We know that it is from you, that all of our blessings truly flow.

And we are so thankful for each and every one of them. And as we prepare to give back a portion of this, to your needs and your works by donating funds to this church. So we may use these funds to further the spread of your word and your gospel here on earth. We ask that you help each and every one of us do it with a cheerful heart.

And we ask that you help the men of this congregation that oversee these funds, make decisions that are rightful and truly in helping spread your word. Those that are less Fortunate than us. And that is those that have not heard your word so that they may have that same opportunity we have as live with you forever. One day in eternity, we pray this through your son,

Jesus name, amen. The song before the lesson will be number 431 and break thou the bread of life. If you’re able to stand for this song, please, number 431<inaudible><inaudible> to me<inaudible> let’s see<inaudible> to me, to me. See<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> peace ma Oh, eh. Oh, you may be seated. Good morning. Good to be home.

It’s good to see each and every one of you, especially our visitors, Glad to have your presence with us, hope that you can make it a regular opportunity. This year in 2021, we are going to take one lesson each month. We’re going to focus on a word throughout the year that I believe has a great deal of emphasis for us and a great deal of import into our society,

our life and our existence today. That word is the word faithful. We’re going to begin that study looking at God’s description of a faithful man or a faithful person in order to get God’s perspective on this idea of faithful. We could look in the new Testament, but I really think we have to begin in the old Testament. Deuteronomy chapter nine, sorry.

Deuteronomy chapter seven. And in verse nine, God is speaking to Israel as they are preparing to go into the promised land. And he says to them beginning in verse nine, he says, therefore know that the Lord, your God, he is God. He begins with this premise that God Jehovah God, the Lord, God. The one who brought them out of Egypt is God.

And when God says I am God, he doesn’t mean I am one God, among many. He has shown beyond any doubt through his actions with Egypt. He is the true and living God. And so he says, therefore know that the Lord, your God, he is the Lord, your God. He is God. And notice this description, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations,

with those who love him and keep his commandments. As we begin this study concerning this idea of being faithful of faithfulness and everything it touches in our lives understand that God first desires requires commands faithfulness, because he is faithful. You and I, we make promises. We make commitments. We make agreements. And if we’re honest, and if we are those of sound,

mind, and striving to be what God would have us to be our intent, when we make those agreements is to fulfill what we have said, we will do no matter what kind of agreement it is, whether it’s an agreement to pay something to someone or an agreement on a loan or an agreement on just participation in an, in a transaction or, or,

or an activity with a friend. I was talking with a friend of mine just recently. And he’s been working out with some of the members of the congregation, where he attends and, and him and this friend of his and his wife, they go out every, every morning and they go work out and he had been doing this for a month or two.

And he had as a result of some things at work, he had been up all night. He worked from until 4:00 AM, one morning, then worked all day, then had to work all until three or 4:00 AM the next morning and then had to face the potential of not going and working out. And he went and worked out anyway because he knew if he didn’t do it once,

if he, if he said I can’t make it this time, there would be a thousand other reasons why I wouldn’t make it in the future. So he pushed through and he did it. And you and I, we face those struggles. We face those difficulties. We met, we face those choices. The reality is sometimes though, maybe out of no fault of our own,

maybe out of circumstances, we can’t even control. We can’t fulfill an obligation. We have made a commitment, a promise, and we have been on faithful to that commitment. Now this may be in a small matter, may be in an inconsequential matter. It may be in a temporary matter, but that’s not God Deuteronomy chapter seven verse nine tells us that God Jehovah the Lord.

He is God. And he is faithful to a thousand generations. Now women Moses makes this statement by inspiration through the power of the Holy spirit. He does not mean that to the thousand. And first-generation, God’s probably not going to be faithful to them. No, he means quite clearly that when you are faithful to the thousand generations that have come before the thousand and first generation can have no doubt and complete assurance that God will still be Faithful.

But he’s, He is faithful to those who love him and keep his commandments. And he repays those who hate him to their face to destroy them. He will not be Slack with him who hates him. He will repay him too. His face. Moses makes it clear. As he speaks to the children of Israel. God is faithful to those who love him.

And he’s faithful to those who hate him. He will be faithful to himself always. And therefore what he has said He will do. So as we begin, we need to, I understand that God desires faithful Because he is faithful. There was a time in Israelite history. First Samuel chapter two, That God replaced his high priest. He not only replaced his high priest,

but he replaced the whole priestly lineage, Age and family In first Samuel chapter two as Eli and his sons were the current high priest and priests. God delivers a message to Eli. In first Samuel chapter two, and in verse 35, then I will raise up for myself. Now notice the wording. God says, I’m going to do this and I’m going to do it because of me because of who I am.

Therefore, I will raise up for myself, a faithful priest who shall do according to what is In my heart. You go back into the proceeding versus you will find out that Eli’s sons, Hoff, Diane Finney has, who were supposed to be serving. As priests were instead causing the people to transgress. They were committing for an occasion in the very front of the tabernacle.

They were committing adultery. They were, they were stealing. They were holding those people’s offerings, bounty for what they could receive for offering the sacrifices. They were doing all sorts of things. And God said, this isn’t going to stand my priests. Aren’t going to do this. And Eli and his sons would be replaced, but God says, I’m going to replace you with someone who will do according to what is in my heart.

And in my mind, I will build him a sure house. And he shall walk before my annoying Forever. Samuel would be that high priest, the priesthood and the family would transition in Eli’s family. His lineage would end God is serious about faithfulness. And second Timothy chapter two, Paul writes to Timothy. And as he is writing to this young preacher,

he sets a charge before Timothy, as a preacher. He instills in Timothy, the requirement that Timothy be about a particular task And That task hasn’t changed for preachers across every century from then, until now, Paul writes to Timothy and saying to any chapter two, and in verse one, he says, you, therefore, my son be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Yeah. Paul writes to Timothy and he says, you be on the lookout for a particular kind of person. You, as you minister, you be searching for a particular group of people. The qualification for which Paul States,

Timothy needs to be looking for is not those who are rich. Not those who are poor, not those who are tall are, those were short. Those were fat. Or those who were skinny. He says, the qualification is those who are faithful. And you find someone who’s faithful. And here’s what you do. You take the things that you’ve heard from me among many witnesses.

You take the things that are is the bulk and the meat and the body of what I’ve taught you. And you instill it into them. And Then you give them the charge to go give it to somebody else. And the prime responsibility is they function as stewards of a gift. Paul would write to the church at Corinth about the treasure that had been Placed in them as Earthen vessels.

The word of God Handed to them that they in turn should deliver it. Proclaim it, preach it faithfully to others, But not only teach it, they had to also live it. God desires, faithful men, but there’s a Psalm in the old Testament that gives a warning. And I want to spend the bulk of the rest of our time in that Psalm,

Psalm 12 is a Psalm of David. And it presents a warning. A warning that I believe is needed is resoundingly needed in our country. Not only in our congregations, but in our congregations, but in our country, in our society and in our world Was at the very heart of some of the biggest problems. Our society He has is this problem.

This Thing that David’s going To warn about, he begins help, help Lord for The godly man, Ceases for the faithful disappear from among the sons of men, David in this song cries out for God’s help. He cries out for God’s aid because he can’t find faithful men Among God’s people. This isn’t just a problem amongst the priesthood in David’s day, it’s not just about the spiritual leaders.

It’s about finding men who will Hold forth, the Attributes of faithfulness throughout their lives, throughout every aspect of their existence. And David is going to confront Using the words of the Lord, the attributes Of those who are on Faithful, Because if you want an under an understanding of God’s description of a faithful man, one of the things God will present to you is what he is not what a faithful man will not do.

What he will not be involved in. And David says, as he looks at his world, as he looks at his society, as he looks at his nation, this is all I can find. He says, verse two, they speak. I believe every one with his neighbor. As he looks down upon the people he sees idleness, He sees idol Speech.

Jesus made a point about Idle speech. He said that when the judgment comes, a man will give an account for all the words that he Speaks. And he warns against idle speech. You and I, we have an opportunity in our lives to speak hundreds of thousands of words, to communicate thoughts, emotions, feeling, instruction, desires contemplations, but as stewards of the gift of communication,

how are we using it? Are we only investing our time and effort and energies in communicating that which has no real lasting value. David looks at These individuals and he sees their interests and their speech only revolves around temporary Earthly things. And they are idle in their speech, but he goes on to say yes, That they speak with flattering lips and with a double heart,

They speak it. It’s it’s, it’s bad enough that their speech has no value, but then they turn around and they use their speech to lift up others artificially, to flatter them. When in their heart, their only desire is for themselves. One of the attributes of a faithful person, discipline Just over in the book of Proverbs that we’re not going to get into in any depth in this lesson.

But we will before this course of lessons is over, is the attribute of a faith Full friend who will tell you something that hurts, but he’ll tell it to you because you need to hear it yet. These people aren’t that kind of person. These people, that David is looking at their idol in their speech and they’re flattering in their lips. And they’re double hearted Because yeah,

Their intent is to provoke others to action that only benefits themselves. And David says, these are not faithful people, but he goes on to say, may the Lord cut off all flattering lips? As the King, as a man Can have wealth as a man of prosperity. As a man who had led others into battle had conquered, had discovered the power that existed in serving the Lord.

We know as we go through the history of David and we look at the things that he endured, the things he went through, that he was surrounded by some people who were The worst of humanity. But here’s the reality. When you have wealth, you will generally end up inevitably at some point, surrounded by people who have only that type of desire.

They’ll say anything to you, but not because they care for you, but because they want what you have. And David will say, may the Lord cut off all flattering lips and the tongue That speaks proud things. This isn’t David saying, I don’t want them to have what I have this isn’t David going, I’m selfish. And I want to keep everything I have.

And I don’t want to share with no, no, no, that’s not it David’s saying they have a problem with pride in their hearts. And it is interfering With faithfulness among the people in verse six, we read the words of the Lord are pure words. He’s accused them of idle speech, but He contrasts their idol speech With the Lord’s words. If they had set aside all of their own words,

if they had set aside all their own thoughts, if they had set aside, all of the things that they thought were they were, that were important. And just spoken the words of the Lord, he would have said, they spoke. You are words, but they wouldn’t do that. As a matter of fact, if you look at verse four,

we read who have said those who have flattering lips, those who have tongues that speak proud things they have said with our tongue, We will prevail. Our lips are our own. I’m in control. They said, I get to say whatever I want. No one can tell me what to say. I get to look out for me too. I get what I want to do,

what I want and use my Long to accomplish it. But they would also say not only our lips are our own, but who is Lord over us? A faithful man tied up in all of this is the lesson that a faithful man is a submissive man. David Looks at his people and says, I can’t find any faithful men. They’re disappearing as if someone’s coming in the midst of the night and kidnapping them.

They’re being drawn aside. They’re being drawn away into the desires of their flesh, the desires of their heart and their mind and their pride and their desire and their flattery is stealing them from faithfulness to those who are around them. And has you think back over the life of David, think about how many betrayals, those closest to him committed. And David can’t find a faithful man of his own children.

Multiple men would arise seeking to kill him and take the throne. But in verse five, he says for the oppression of the poor, for the signing of the needy, Oh, here it is. They prevail with their tongues. They use their speech to get what they want. They claim their lips are their own and no one is Lord over them,

but who are they acting against? Who are they using the build themselves up? He says, they’re using the poor. They’re using the needy Absalom. One of David’s sons would stand and would sit out side the city. And as he sought power and prominence among the people, as the people would come in to be judged, he would stop them outside the city.

And he’d say, you won’t get any judgment in there. They don’t have time for you. You’ll never get the decision that you want. If you go to the King for judgment, let me judge you. And he would sit outside the city and he would judge in favor of those who would support him. And before long, he turn The nation’s heart against their King by flattery of lips and deceitful actions.

And the oppression of the poor verse five says, now I will arise, says the Lord. Isn’t David saying, I’m going to get on my high horse and I’m going to get my army together. And we’re going to go out and we’re going to take vengeance on all these unfair, Well, men know, the Lord says, Now I will arise.

Now I will arise. As the Lord, I will set him in the safety for which he yearns. God says, I’m going to defend the poor. I’m going to defend the needy. I’m going to stand between the unfaithful And the oppressed. The words of the Lord are pure words. Silver tried in a furnace of earth. Purified seven times. You shall keep them all.

Lord use shall preserve them from this generation forever. David Expresses the necessity of treasuring up as it were of storing up God’s words, to keep them from a generation That would use them for their own profit. They would use them for their own ends. As if God is saying, I’m going to take my covenant. I’m going to take my long and take my words.

And I’m going to hold them back from you. I’m not giving them to you because you’ll only abuse them Because you are faithful in your very B verse eight says the wicked prowl on every side, when vileness is exalted among the sons of men, David presents to God’s people, a warning. He said, you look around you and faithful. Men are disappearing.

I would say in the years I’ve been alive. And that I have had time to observe that in the church, faithful men are disappearing. We have too many men who are too Focused on This life and cannot focus on God. And because of that, they do not leave their homes. They do not lead their families. They do not instruct their children.

They do not instruct faithful men. They do not set themselves to follow the Lord. In Isaiah’s day, Isaiah would confront his generation and Isaiah chapter one. I want to read a few of the verses as we close from Isaiah chapter one, because God confronts a nation, a city of people that had the opportunity to be faithful. They still had a chance in Isaiah’s day.

They wouldn’t take it and they’re going to be judged. But Isaiah, right? And Isaiah chapter one beginning in verse 21, how the faithful city has become a harlot. One of the attributes that is specific to the idea of a harlot is someone who will do anything for money. And Isaiah confronts his generation and says, you, you used to be a faithful city,

and now you will do anything for money. Verse 21, he says it was full of justice and righteousness lodged in it. But now murderers, your silver has become draws your wine mixed with water. Your princes are rebellious. You’re in companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless nor does the cause of the widow come before them.

What is it that God just talked about in Psalm chapter 12? That same thing. They will not help those in need. They will not defend the defenseless. They not serve The oppressed. They will not even give them justice For all they want is money. Therefore, the Lord says, verse 24, the Lord of hosts, the mighty one of Israel.

Ah, I will rid myself of my Adversaries. I remember Deuteronomy chapter seven. God said I will be faithful to those who love me and keep my commandments to a thousand generations. And I will be faithful to them. Those who hate me, the Lord says, ah, I will rid myself of my adversaries and take vengeance on my enemies. I will turn my hand against you.

Now he’s speaking to Israel. He says, I will turn my hand against you and thoroughly purge away your draws And take away all your alloy. I will restore your judges as at the first. And your counselors is at the beginning afterward. You shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. He says, Israel, you were one, The faithful city.

And yet you’ve become a harlot, But I’m going to turn you around. And it won’t be a pretty experience. He says, I’m Going to burn off All the corruption. Notice he goes on. He says, Zion will be redeemed with justice and her penitence with righteousness, the destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together. And those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed for.

They shall be ashamed of the terrible trees, which you have desired. You shall be embarrassed because of the gardens, which you have chosen. He’s pointing out their idolatry. He’s pointing out their places of worship, their high places, the places they constructed to go worship the foreign gods. He says, you’re going to be embarrassed at those. I’m going to turn you against those.

He says, verse 34, you shall be as a terrible whose leaf fades. And as a garden that has no water. You’ll The dead. The strong shall be as Tinder. And the work of it as a spark, both will burn together and no one shall quench them. God’s description of a faithful man is one who loves him and keeps his commandments.

Yes, but One who will not allow Injustice to continue. One who will not turn a blind eye To oppression. One who will not Set aside justice for profit, but also One who will not flatter To engross themselves, who will, I’ll not speak idle words instead of the word of the Lord, who will not be double hearted and Double tongue. But God makes it clear to the unfaithful.

When I judge you, no one will stop me. No one will hold me back. And as he Takes the analogy of the strong one who has been turned into Tinder, they’re so dried out. They’re they’re like the forests in California. He alight. Imagine there’s no stopping it Because I’m going to take the strong ones among you. And I’m going to be that.

And I’m going to take their own, works their own deeds. And I’m going to light them on fire with it. And no one Will quench my judgment. God is faithful to those who love him and keep his commandments and to those who hate him as well. So the question is which one are we? And are we faithful? And not only faithful,

but producing more, who are faithful for that is part of our faithfulness. You’re here this morning and you’re outside the body of Christ. You stand in a position of judgment. These days, Hebrews chapter nine tells us this. Life’s going to be over. You’re going to stand before God in judgment. Because of that, you need to know where you stand.

Do you stand God as One who is faithful? If you’re outside the body of Christ, you don’t. Because while God loves those who love him and keep his commandments. One of his commandments is the requirement for salvation. The requirement of obedience to enter into the body of Christ, the place where salvation has found the church for which Christ died. And he shed his blood.

You enter into that body by hearing the word of God and believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God. Jesus said, except you believe that I am. He you’ll die in your sins. Paul wrote it this way. Either. You are one who believes in him, or you are an alien from him, separated from him and an enemy of God.

You can’t be both. And you can’t find a third option. You’re either one or the other. Having believed that Jesus Christ is the son of God. You have to conform your life to him. The one who loves God and keeps his commandments, but conforming your life means repenting of your sins and confessing the name of Christ, submitting to him and being immersed in water,

dying to your old self, rising in again, to walk in newness of life, Romans chapter six, verses three and four, and then being faithful until death because revelation chapter two tells us James chapter one tells us that the one who’s faithful unto death will receive a crown of life. So if you want to know when this life is over, exactly which category you fit into,

faithful or unfaithful, and there’s only two, that’s where you need to begin. If you’re a member of the body of Christ and your faithfulness looks like it’s disappearing. If David would look at your life and go, no, I’m looking for a faithful man. And that’s not one. Maybe it’s time to turn around. You have need of the invitation for any reason why not come now as we stand in,

as we sing<inaudible> from the source.<inaudible><inaudible> well, you<inaudible> to the fountain free. Well, you<inaudible> me. The<inaudible> here. The welcome call is a fountain up for, Oh, there’s a living stream with a crystal gleam.<inaudible> hear the call for free. They go, Oh, well you come to the fountain free. Will you<inaudible><inaudible> Oh,

open for, Oh, there’s a rock that’s<inaudible><inaudible> and it’s dream. I see. Let<inaudible> to the fountain free. Well, you<inaudible> thirsty<inaudible> you may be seated. Sandra comes forward saying she hasn’t been faithful. It hasn’t been focused on spiritual things. The way she wants To be been too focused on discomforts. She wants to do better.

And we are overjoyed for that. We all throughout our lives have difficulty keeping focus on what’s important. And I think that’s why so much of scripture focuses us back. If we’ll Listen to what’s important, What to pray for Cassandra right now, Not only that she will be forgiven, But that her direction and focus Will become what she desires for it to be.

But that she will also be an example for all of us to do the same. Let’s pray our gracious father in heaven. Come before you at this time with tender hearts, care, concern and love for our sister, Cassandra and her desire to be faithful, her desire to become closer to you and to focus on the turtle more than the temporal. Each one of us needs that desire as well and are encouraged by her example of repentance and willingness to say,

I can do better. We pray for Cassandra that you will forgive her. She repents of these things, that you will aid her in setting her feet on a right path. We also pray that we will be an encouragement and a comfort and a strength and a bulwark for her as she goes through this journey of setting things, right? We ask that you be with this congregation as a whole,

in our faithfulness, we ask that you bless this family that we have here, that we watch out for one another and we help one another. In our struggles, we pray for continued blessings, Cassandra and forgiveness and grace and mercy, as they are sought. And as they are offered through the blood of your son, all this, we pray in Jesus name.

Amen. For the closing, prayer will be number 642. Let the loan Or lights be burning. All things Right? Lee beams off there’s mercy from his NA side house<inaudible> but to a us, he gives a key PE of the nights.<inaudible><inaudible> send a gleam, a cross<inaudible> struggling. See man, you may rescue. You may say,

Hey dog.<inaudible><inaudible> for the lights.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> struggling. See man, you may rescue<inaudible><inaudible> some<inaudible><inaudible> and<inaudible><inaudible> sin Glebe, a cross<inaudible> struggling. See man,<inaudible> Let us bow. Dear God, our father in heaven, we truly are so thankful that we’ve been able to gather today to worship Eve, to be able to study from your word and be guided by those principles that you have set for us to live by father.

We’re grateful for every member of this body of Christ here. We’re so thankful for the love that we have for each other. And we pray father that as we go through life, that we not only demonstrate that love to our physical family, but our spiritual family. And they, we have thoughts of an eternal nature. That those are the things that got our ways upon this earth that we realized that we have what a short time to do your will,

and to try to reach others with the gospel and to try to become the fateful that truly care more about things of any eternal nature than those of a physical nature. We pray father that you give us the strength and the courage to do those things that might reach out to those that are lost. Those things that might encourage those that have fallen away from you,

that they too might want to come back and be faithful. Father help us each day that we live, that we look to your word, that we might always direct our lives in the proper direction that we always are about trying to demonstrate our love for others in our care and concern and compassion for one another, strengthen us as we go through life. We’re so thankful for the lesson that Aaron so adequately covered this morning,

we should ponder upon those thoughts and be concerned with how we are living our lives. Bless us as we’re about to depart, strengthen us. As we continue to look to your word in Jesus name, we pray. Amen.

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Why Did Christ Give Himself? – Admonition 320

In Admonition Podcast by Web Administrator

Ephesians 5:25-26 – Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
 
 Transcript:
 
 Why did Christ give himself for the church? In Ephesians chapter five, we read, in verse 26, the first reason, That he might sanctify and cleanse her with washing of water by the word.
 
 But, we also read the second reason that he might present her to himself a glorious church. Does that describe your church?
 
 Does that describe the group of people that you belong to? A glorious church presented to Christ and submissive to him.
 
 For more from the Collierville Church of Christ, visit www.colliervillecoc.org.

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Why Did Christ Give Himself?

In Admonition, Podcasts by Aaron Cozort

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:25-26

Description:

Ephesians 5:25-26 – Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

Transcript:

Why did Christ give himself for the church? In Ephesians chapter five, we read, in verse 26, the first reason, That he might sanctify and cleanse her with washing of water by the word.

But, we also read the second reason that he might present her to himself a glorious church. Does that describe your church?

Does that describe the group of people that you belong to? A glorious church presented to Christ and submissive to him.

For more from the Collierville Church of Christ, visit www.colliervillecoc.org.


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Aaron Cozort is the preacher for the Collierville church of Christ.

The Collierville church of Christ meets on Sundays morning and afternoon at 575 Shelton Road, Collierville, TN 38017.
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01-03-2021 – Matthew 6 (Class) & God’s Definition of “Faithful? (Part 1) (Sermon)

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

JESUS – Matthew 6
The Sermon on the Mount (continued): Charity, Prayer, Fasting, Riches

  1. When an individual does an act of charity or prays or fasts, he should do so (a) sounding a trumpet, (b) before men to be noticed by them, (c) in secret, or (d) putting on a gloomy face. Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
  2. (yes or no) Did Jesus teach the disciples how to pray in his Sermon on the Mountain? Matthew 6:9-13
  3. (yes or no) Will the heavenly Father forgive those who do not forgive other people? Matthew 6:14-15
  4. Where should an individual store up treasures?
    Why? Matthew 6:19-21
  5. (yes or no) Can an individual serve God and riches at the same time?
    Matthew 6:24
  6. A person should seek first (a) food, (b) drink, (c) clothing, or (d) Jesus’ Kingdom. Matthew 6:24-33
  7. In teaching the disciples not to be anxious, Jesus did not use the example of (a) birds, (b) pharisees, (c) human life span, (d) lilies, or (e) grass.
    Matthew 6:26-32

Automated Transcript:

I watch disagrees with the clock, but you know what? We start based upon my watch. I get extra time. So ha ha Just got to convince Tommy that we start off by my watch and we end by that clock. That’s that’s the key there We are in Matthew chapter six, Appreciate Michael filling in for me while I was gone and got a chance to listen to most of the class.

He did a good job. Appreciate that. We’ll have a few things to say about Matthew five, as we, as we get into chapter six, as we go through the chapter, but we won’t do very much talking about it simply because otherwise we won’t get through chapter six, Let’s begin with a word of prayer, Our gracious father in heaven. We come before you thankful for the day.

You’ve granted to us for the life that we have, the opportunities that we have to serve you. We pray that you watch over us and help us to always strive to be faithful to you in all things, to care for you and for your kingdom and for your word above all the riches in the world, help us to understand the value of eternal things over physical things.

As we begin this new year, we are mindful of the year that we have just gone through. And we’re mindful of the opportunities that we’ve had, the areas where we’ve fallen short in the areas where we still need to grow. We pray that is we go through this next year, that we will focus better on serving you each and every day that we will always seek to be faithful to you no matter what comes,

no matter the difficulties that lie ahead or the blessings that lie ahead, may we always remember to focus on you? We ask that you forgive us. When we sin and fall short of your glory, we pray that you be with those who are dealing with illness and injury and difficulty at this time. And especially those who are dealing with coronavirus and loss of loved ones.

Those in the hospital, all this, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Matthew chapter six. The chapter begins with take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them. Every time I read that I cannot help. But think about all the businesses you walk into, especially large corporations that are always posting up on the wall,

how much money they give Every Walmart you’ve ever walked into how much money they give to local charities, how much money they Amazon’s always talking about how much money they give to this, give to that. And yet Jesus Said, take Heed that you do not do your charitable deeds Before men. This is not a condemnation of here’s someone in need and here’s someone passing by,

but there’s a third person over here. Who’s a spectator and Jesus has no, no, no, no, no. Don’t help that person in need while the spectators present that that’s not what this is about. This also isn’t about the idea that no one can know what good things have been done. You go forward to second Corinthians chapter eight and nine,

where Paul is writing to the church at Corinth. And Paul will use the willingness of the church of Corinth to towards the poor Jewish Christians that are undergoing famine and difficulties and persecutions from their own nation. And he’ll use the willingness of the church at Corinth to give towards that effort, to encourage the churches of Macedonia to also give now, wait a minute,

is Paul contradicting Jesus because he’s taking what one church is doing and he’s telling another church about it. No, here’s the idea Jesus is saying and is speaking concerning motivation. This particular idea is more closely akin to what we find over in the book of acts. Turn to acts chapter acts chapter five. I believe it is Beginning in verse 32, actually acts chapter four,

acts chapter four, verse 32. Now the multitudes of those who believed were of one heart and one soul, neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common and with great power, the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord. Jesus and great grace was upon the mall nor was there anyone among them who lacked for all who had,

who were possessors of land or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold and laid them at the apostles feet. And they distributed to each as anyone had need. And Joseph<inaudible>, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles, which is translated the son of encouragement, a Levi of the country of Cyprus having land sold it and brought the money and laid it at the Apostle’s feet.

Now, when Barnabas brought this money that he had, because he sold this land and he laid it at the Apostle’s feet. Did he tell everybody who was at the room now clear the room? I don’t want anybody. Nobody can see what I’m doing. No. As a matter of fact, news concerning what he had done spread throughout the Christians. And we know that it did because you pick up in chapter five,

verse one, but a certain man named Anna Niaz and Safira his wife sold a possession and he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it and brought a certain part and laid it at the Apostle’s feet. Now we’ve probably all gone through this at one time before in, in our lives and in our studies, but there was nothing wrong with the fact that Anna Safira sold something and only gave part of the proceeds.

As a matter of fact, Peter will point out over here a little later. I think it’s verse eight. Peter answered her. Tell me whether you sold the land for so much. She said yes, for so much. Then Peter said to her, how is it that you have agreed together to test the spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried,

your husband are at the door and they will carry you out. If you go back just back in verse four, after Anna Niaz comes and lies to, to Peter and the Holy spirit concerning what he has done, we read in verse four while it remained, that is the possession, the land while it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold,

was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God, because what Anna NEI and Safira did is they brought the possession. They brought the proceeds and instead of giving all of it, they claimed they gave all of it, but kept some of it back. And so in Doing this,

what’s your seeing, what would we get out of the text is they wanted to be known and have the reputation like Barnabas of being these charitable givers, Without the actual sacrifice of giving everything. Barnabas take took everything that he profited from, from the sale of the land and gave all of it. They wanted the notoriety of giving all of it without actually giving all of it.

What was the problem? Their charitable action was being done out of selfish. NIS. Does that mean they had no care, no concern at all, for those who were poor, those who were struggling, I don’t know, but the reality is they lied. The reality is they lied and they had a motivation for doing it. And that motivation was pride and selfishness.

And self-interest the exact opposite of what you’re supposed to have when you’re trying to be benevolent towards others. So Jesus begins Matthew chapter six, by saying, take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you,

As the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may have glory from men, a Shirley, I say to you, they have Reward so often we’ll see, great Big fan and all of this being done to, to show how benevolent some and quite often it’s some very rich person is by doing something in view of their riches, small for someone who’s in great need yet.

There’s great fanfare. And then the news is going to cover it. And we’re going to tell everybody I think about it. Jesus said, don’t do that. Do what needs to be done Without drawing attention to the fact that you’re Doing what needs to be done. He goes on to say, but when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.

That your charitable deed may be in secret. And your father who sees in secret will himself reward you. You openly, we don’t need to take this passage to extremes was Told of one congregation hears ago That they had the, the giving plate behind the curtain, Reach in with one hand and put in your offering. But she couldn’t take the other hand and put it inside the curtain because then the left hand would know what the right hand Was doing.

Somehow I think there Was something disconnected right around Here. Okay. This is an analogy. Okay. This is a point that Jesus is making concerning one, striving to being known for something. Instead of doing something, recognizing who they are, They really are. And what I, I mean by that is when a person gives recognizing that what they’re giving doesn’t belong to them.

It belongs to God. Then why should they get any recognition for having given it? Hey, look, I gave what doesn’t belong to me to somebody else Now glorify me. No, You are a steward of What you have. The question is, are you a faithful steward or not? And so Jesus makes the point that your charitable deed may be in secret.

And your father who sees in secret will reward You openly the emphasis of this entire passage, Which will lead all the way till the end of this chapter is do what you do so that you are obedient and faithful to God and leave the rest Up to him. If God wants you to be recognized, then God will make sure you’re recognized. If God wants you to be exalted,

then God can take care of exalting you. If God wants you to be blessed because of what you do, then God can take care of blessing you. The difference is in verses one through four, Jesus is accusing individuals of being more concerned about their own situation. Being more concerned about their own blessings, their own rewards, Then serving God. And Jesus said,

you’ve got it in the wrong order. Don’t neglect doing good, but serve God First and allow him to take care of you verse five. And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites For, they love to pray standing in the synagogues. It’s interesting. He keeps referencing hypocrites here. If you go back to chapter five, he will say,

accept your righteousness, exceed the righteousness of who the Pharisees you shall by no Means enter the kingdom Of God. And now he’s gone through over and over and over again and said, hypocrites, hypocrites. He doesn’t, he hasn’t said Pharisees, Pharisees, but he keeps describing the positions Of the Pharisees and the priests and the teachers of the law. They’re the ones who stand up in front of the synagogue.

They’re the ones who get the trumpets blown in the synagogue and, and out in the street, whenever they do good deeds, they’re the ones He’s Contrasting righteousness against. He said, you can either be like them. You can be like the people who are always tooting their own horn, or You can be righteous, which you can’t be both. He goes on to say,

when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites for, they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the street that they may be seen by men. Again, the thing under discussion, the thing being talked about is the attitude Food of self That they may be seen by as Shirley, I say to you, they have their reward,

but you, when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your father who was in the secret place. And your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Is this Jesus saying, no, the only place we ever need to pray is in a room all by ourselves with the door. No. And yet what Jesus speaks of is an attitude.

That Is one that we need to be cautious about, that we are not doing, Doing something for pride or recognition growing up when I was a, what I would still do, I consider to be a boy when I was younger, teenage years. And around that time, you know, if in the congregation where I grew up, if you got up and led a prayer,

if you got up and, and led singing, if you got up and served on Lord’s table, there were going to be seven or eight people who came up to you afterwards, whether you did a good job or a terrible job who told you how good of a job you did? Why were they doing Encouragement? They were attempting to bolster the attitude Dude of service Way to against the attitude of Nervousness and shyness.

And so Well-meaning and, and very spiritual and very mindful of thoughtful individuals will come up and say, you did a great, Good job, keep it up. Now there’s a Benefit and a potential negative to that Because you Can end up having an individual who eventually only serves for the compliments they get For the Things that they get told at for the gratification that comes by doing it.

And you, you might’ve seen this happen a few times in, in other areas of life, somebody is known for doing something. They do it all the time. They do it on a regular basis, and they’re always talked about for doing it. And then for whatever reason, time and, and forgetfulness, Somebody doesn’t mention what it is that they did.

Yeah. And the next time the opportunity rolls around. They don’t do it. And the next time the opportunity rolled around, they don’t do it. And you go and ask what, what happened? Oh, well so-and-so or nobody appreciates me. Nobody ever thanks me for it. They’ve been thanked for 30 years for doing it, but that hasn’t built up quite enough,

ego to last for the next 10 years of not being thanked for doing it. What’s the problem. The problem is they started at some point, not saying they did it the entire time, but at some point they stopped doing it because it was the thing that needed to be done. And they started doing it because they were getting recognized for doing it.

And we need to be careful about that at the same time. Let me say unequivocally, especially with young individuals striving to do something that’s outside their comfort zone. We should definitely encourage them for doing so, but he says, and when you pray, verse seven, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do for, they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Therefore do not be like them for your father knows the things you have need of before you ask him, this passage always reminds me of a lie. He’s there on the mountain with the Fort 100 profits veil. And they’re, they’re crying out and dancing around and throwing themselves around and cutting themselves and trying to get bailed, light the sacrifice on fire and with all their many words and all this time,

they spend doing it until they’re exhausted and basically collapsed on the ground. They don’t get anything to happen. And Elijah prayed. He’s what, after dousing the whole altar with water after all of the things that praise, once fire comes down from heaven and sets whole thing on fire, was it the long prayer that he got? Well, it was the fact that God knew what he needed before he ever opened his mouth.

And so he says, therefore, do not be like them for your father knows the things you have need of before you ask interesting point, he’s just lowered the hypocrites, the Pharisees, the Sadducees describes the teachers to the same level as the pagan. Okay? He said, this is what the heathen do. They’re vain repetitions over and over again, thinking they’ll accomplish something.

And these hypocrites are no better than them in this manner. Therefore pray our father in heaven, hallowed, be your name, your kingdom, come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread and forgive us our debts. As we forgive our debtors, sometimes we have a mentality of forgive us our debts,

and then we’ll forgive our debtors. Take, take care of me first, but Jesus wants us to go the other direction. Jesus wants us and all all through this passage. This is, this whole section is about this idea. Do for others, do for God before you do for you do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen. There is there’s. There’s just far more that could be said about those verses than I have time to even dwell on. So we’re, we’re going to leave that for another time. He goes then to this, he says for, if you forgive men, their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you out of this prayer. He focuses on forgiveness.

They seek the wiping away of debts in a country that has spent more money in the last year than we spent from the government’s perspective in the last 10 years, which one costs more the entire national debt or one souls sins, which one costs more one soul sin, because you could get enough gold to pay off the national debt. It exists somewhere in the world,

but there’s not enough gold in all the vaults, in all the places in all the world to pay for one person sins, forgive us our debts. As we forgive Our debtors for, if you forgive men, their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you the opposite. It is also true, but if you do not forgive men, their trespasses,

neither will your father forgive your trust. Facets. John would write to the church in the first century and he would tell them that the blood of Christ continually cleanses their sins. But then he’ll remind them If any man says he has no sin, He’s a liar. And the truth is not in it. He wants it to be clear that there’s no one who stands on the pinnacle of all the rest of the church,

untouched by sin, untouched by transgression and standing there alone saying, I don’t have to forgive anybody because nobody has Forgive me because I’m perfect. But as we look at this, as we back up, as he’s talking about forgiveness, what is he really talking about? Who is the person who will not forgive someone else, a hypocrite, a person who’s more interested in themselves than the other person.

The person who will not forgive Is not the person who’s been so maligned. They Possibly forgive. No, no, no, no. That’s not who it is. Person who will not forgive is the person who has so lost. The view of their own needs, Needs that they no longer care for the needs of others. All through this passage, All through this text,

Jesus Has been talking about the, The relationship we have towards our selves And How it affects the relationship we have with everyone, Including God, Because the person who is so filled with pride, so filled with indignation, so filled with themselves. So filled with selfishness that they will not forgive. Jesus Says you have condemned yourself because if you won’t forgive God,

won’t forgive you. Moreover, when you fast do not be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to be fasting assuredly. I say to you, they have their reward, but you, when you fast anoint your head and wash your face so that you do not appear to be, to appear to men,

to be fasting, but to your father who is in the secret place and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. He’s not changed discussions. He’s not changed topics the entire time, all going all the way back into the discussion in chapter six, verse one about charitable deeds. He’s not changed topics at all. He’s just applied it to different areas.

He’s applied it to charitable deeds and giving and helping others. He’s applied it to prayer. He’s applied it to forgiveness. He’s now going to apply it to fasting question. Is there any place actually, let me, let me back up one question before I jump ahead of the horse here, what is fasting doing without something? And generally in scripture, it’s specifically doing without what food and or drink liquids or,

or, or solids. Okay. Sometimes it’s just one. Sometimes it’s, it’s both. When Jesus fasted in the wilderness, was it him fasting from food and drink? It have to be just food. How long did he fast 40 days. Can you go that long without any liquids? Nope. 70% water. About that time. You’re around 50% and you’re dead.

All right. Not going to happen. But when Satan came and tempted him, what did he say? Turn this water into earth. He started turning this stone into water bread, turn, turn this stone into bread. Depending upon the circumstance. Sometimes it was a complete, fast from everything. It was, it was quite literally the idea of, and this was generally connected to morning,

but it was the idea of withholding really anything from yourself. This is not something we in America tend to do on a regular basis. And some, I actually know some people who have fasted. I know some who fast on, on a regular basis. Not that I know personally, but that I have talked to or heard from, but what’s the reason for it.

If biblically speaking, not, not talking about people who were not talking about dieting, what’s the reason biblically speaking for fasting. There’s primarily two reasons. Say what? All right, a focus on spiritual cleansing or repentance quite often, what was the other? Okay. So the, the other main focus that we see in scripture is morning or sorrow, whether that be a,

for a national reason, quite often, you would find individuals fasting because of the wickedness of, of the nation of Israel. But this, this always was, was supposed to be a spiritual discipline of withholding. Your natural needs to focus your mind on something more important. And this isn’t a bad thing. I think sometimes we look at it at fasting and go,

well, we don’t need to do that today. We don’t need to focus our minds on more important things. I don’t know that that’s true. Are we commanded under the new Testament to do it today? No, we’re not commanded to do it, but there was only one occasion under the old Testament where they were commanded to do it. So, you know,

a lot of times we’ll look at the old Testament, all the, you know, that fasting, that’s an old Testament thing. No, it’s not. There’s only one specific area or commandment concerning fasting in the old Testament. The fact that there’s one less under the new Testament doesn’t mean that it’s not something that we ought to participate in. It is the same idea as God says,

be still and know that I am God now because there’s no commandment in the new Testament about being still to recognize that God is who he is. Does that mean that we shouldn’t occasionally take opportunities to shove aside everything else, turn everything off and pay attention to the fact that God is now. That’s a setting aside physical to focus on spiritual. Well, that’s all that fasting is about,

but it is a poignant way of doing it because after you get past a certain number of hours, as most of us are familiar with your stomach starts to remind you it’s time to eat. One of the things that fasting does is every time you’re reminded by your body, that you’re hungry, that is used as a prompt for you to think on that spiritual thing that you’re focusing on.

And so you’re using your natural senses to focus your attention on a spiritual thing. Okay? Here’s the problem with what they were doing. They were fasting the hypocrites, they were fasting and they would do so on a regular basis, they would do so without any specific reason, except that they would, you know, they wouldn’t clean their face. They look like they they’d had a rough rough day,

rough night, rough, whatever. And then they’d go out among the people so that people could go, Oh, he’s fasting. Ah, he’s, he’s really, he’s really spiritual. Jesus said, go wash your face, go clean yourself up. Don’t do a spiritual act. That is between you and God to be seen of men and recognized for your spirituality.

He said, when you do that, your spirituality is all the reward you get. The recognition you get in public is all the reward you’ll ever get because God will not reward you for that. You’ve missed the boat. And so today, if somebody chooses or a congregation chooses or a whole nation chooses to have a time of prayer and fasting, there’s nothing wrong with that,

but needs to be done for the right reason. It needs to be done. Not so that Facebook posts can be put every hour. I’m dying. I’m all I’m going to get through this fast, you know, pointing out to everybody around them, that they’re fasting, do spiritual things for the reason you should do them. And that is your spiritual growth and your connection to God and then teach others to do them,

but don’t do it to be seen by others. So then he says, do not lay up for yourselves, treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves, treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys where thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasure is there. Your heart will be also all throughout the sermon on the Mount.

Jesus will focus on Possessions Over and over and over and over again. Possessions and Jesus will point out that his focus on possessions is not really a focus on possessions. His focus on possessions is a warning to say, focus on spiritual things and not possessions. Yeah. Is there a condemnation given by Jesus against those who have possessions a blanket condemnation? No.

As a matter of fact, it would be those who had possessions that would help Jesus in his ministry. Who’s one person that we might think, or one family we might think of who had possessions that helped Jesus, some siblings, Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Did they have a house? Yes. Did Jesus use their house? Yes, he did.

Did they have enough money to buy a burial plot for their brother when he died? Yes. Did Mary have enough money to give a very expensive gift of anointing Jesus before his death? Yes. That was a family that had possession, But what was more important to the family? Their possession Or Jesus Jesus. One time you see really, and even a little bit of a hint of,

of the opposite is where Jesus confronts Martha, because she’s frustrated that her sister’s not helping her serve. And Jesus points out to her that Mary has chosen the greater Thing, the word of God. And so he says, do not lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven or treasures on the earth. If we set aside, Put, Put in investments, put in savings,

this is, this has nothing to do, zero to do with wise stewardship, nothing to do with it. This has everything to do with where is your heart? And Jesus said, if your heart is there and riches in possessions and clothing and gold and silver and money and all the things he’s about to talk about here at the end of the chapter,

he said, you’ve missed it because that stuff, number one will still be here when you’re gone. And number two may not even stay with you while you’re here because it decades or someone along the way comes in and steals what you have. Yup, absolutely. You know, you, you see, even, you know, the, the perspective of the century ans as,

as Jesus is hanging there on the cross and they’re like, well, let’s, let’s cast lots for the garbage, eh, we we’re, we’re not, not tearing in pieces. It’s it’s interwoven. It’s all one piece. So, you know, we can’t can’t divide it, but he doesn’t need it anymore. You know, he’s got no use words.

So somebody is going to get some use out of it. Okay. Focus on the right thing. Now he’s still not changed discussion at all. He’s moved from charitable deeds to your prayer, to your forgiveness, to your fasting, to your treasure. He’s still talking about the same thing, your relationship to you. Okay? He says, if the lamp of the body is the eye,

if there is, if therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness. How great is that darkness? If your inward person has become corrupted so that all you see becomes evil, what was it that God accused the people in Noah’s day of being people who every thought of their heart was only evil.

Continually. They could see something good and in their mind, they’d turn it to evil. No one can serve two Masters for either, right? He will hate the one and love the other LT will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon, right? The application is money, but the gratification of money is always the gratification of What self Back of all of this.

As selfishness back of all of this is pride back of all of this is a care about self, more than a love of God. Go back to chapter five real quick. And then we’ll read through and pick up the rest of this verse. Three, blessed are the what? Poor in spirit. Verse four, blessed are those who Mourn, But verse five,

blessed are the MI verse six. Blessed are those who, what Hunger And thirst after righteousness. What is that? That is the desire of the Heart. Not For gold, silver possessions recognition, the, the praise of men, but for righteousness, blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the pure in heart. Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake.

All of these things begin first, First in the inward person, a decision to serve God over self. Okay? So He says, verse 25, do not worry. Or therefore I say to you do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink nor about your body. What you will put on is not life more than food in the body.

More than clothing. Look at the birds of the air for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than They, which of you By worrying can add one cubit to his stature. So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin.

And yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not Like one of these. Now, if God, so clothes, the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven. Will he not much more closely? Oh, you of little faith, therefore do not worry Saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink?

Or what shall we wear for after all these things, the Gentiles seek for your heavenly father knows that you have needs Of all these things. Now, as we, as we conclude this, I want to remind you God Israel. And while all of these things draw forward to the church, the audience for the discussion is not the church. The audience for the discussion are the Israelites.

Why do you think he said, you have heard it said, but I say unto you, those are, those are attributes of the law. Those are the aspects of the law that they had abused, misused torn apart to gratify themselves, to do what they wanted to do. And now he sets a contrast between them and the Gentiles, because all along the way,

going all the way back to Deuteronomy chapter six, where Israel is hold hero Israel, the Lord, thy, God is one God and thou shall love the Lord. Thy God, with all thy heart, with all my soul, with all my strength, with all by mind, all the way back there. They were warned that when they got into the land and when they began to,

to glean the fields, they didn’t plant. And when they lived in houses, they didn’t build. And when they took over land that they didn’t do anything to toil to create. They might forget God and forget who put them there to begin with. And Jesus reminds these Israelites and his disciples and us today that God can take nothing and give you everything out of it.

And he can take someone who is nothing and make them everything. So what are we worried about if we will, but learn the lessons of the Israelites to love God first, but seek first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about its own things sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

There’s any one passage. That’s one of the hardest things in all scripture to do. I dare say that’s whatever. Alright, we’ll go through the questions on Wednesday night. As we start our review for chapter seven, I can’t help, but look outside and see the beautiful weather and the beautiful day that we have today and what a beautiful day we have to enjoy.

We are proud to see some visitors with us today. We want you to know that you’re our honored guests. And if you would look in the Pew in front of you and there’s a colored card there, if you’d fill it out and just leave it on, the seat are handed to any one of us and we’ll see to it, that it gets to the right place.

We are indeed proud that you chose to come our way while we’re on that subject. As you came in the door, there is a table with the communion cups. If you have not had the opportunity to pick up a little cup of bread and a little cup of grape juice, be sure and do that. It’s a good time to do it right now.

Go back and get it. And you’ll be prepared for the communion service. When we have that, I’ve got a fair number of announcements. So please bear with me here. We need to remember our sick Joan Springer. She’s doing a little bit better. Robin woods, Jessica Dale. She’s here with us today. Also doing a little bit better. Tory Heinz Ellie,

likewise, I think is at least holding her own Dorothy and Rodale. Wilson are both still suffering from their sorta chronic pains. Janie Marlin is doing much better. And ed Richardson, Shell’s dad has a fractured spine. I think he’s doing about the same as I understand. And we want to keep these people in our prayers. We also have some other people,

relatives that are in need of our prayers. Diane O’Neill’s aunt Jean. Sconiers had a stroke in addition to be hospitalized with congestive heart failure and pneumonia. She’s struggling with her speech since the stroke. And she’s back in a nursing home. Also Diana’s nephew’s wife, Natalie temple found out that she has had a cancer that is spreading and not sure what her treatment plan will be,

but that is being dealt with as we speak also Alicia and Maddie bond have been exposed and are showing symptoms of COVID. I guess they have it. They will have to wait for three to seven days for the results of their tests before they actually know, but I’m sure they’re under quarantine right now. We have several of our members that are suffering from back problems.

Michael stacks is home with back problems. Pam chafing is with us today. She says, her back is getting better. And of course, Gladys Lyles is dealing with, with that as well. So these are other people that we need to keep in our prayers. Alena sharp, Shelly stacks, mother has double pneumonia and Marsa infects you and your head wound.

You know, that Marsa is a very serious bacterial infection that is very resistant to all the drugs, very difficult. So keep them in your prayers. Lucky Hanks is in Methodist over in the woman’s section. We tease him about that a little bit, but he’s had some heart problems and it’s pretty much expected that he will probably be getting a pacemaker put in to keep his rhythm in order.

That’s all of the, Oh, wait a minute. I’ve got one more. Dorothy Wilson got a good result from her stress test and she is perhaps going to be improving here, but her grandchildren, Shane and Taylor, that both used to worship here from time to time are suffering from the Corona virus. I think that’s all of our sick people and we just need,

need to be aware of these people and keep them in our prayers. Don’t forget. Potter’s children’s home pantry item for January is dish soap. You can bring that and put it on the little cart as you come into the four year old on the left-hand side. The men’s business meeting will be next Monday night, not this Monday night, but next Monday a week,

week and a half from now or a week and a day from now. And if you have any agenda items, please sign, put them on the list on the bulletin board or make sure that one of the men get them and we’ll get it to the right place. That’s all the announcements. Thank goodness. And the service today, Michael Dale will be leading our singing.

Terry Sanderson has the opening prayer. The Lord’s supper will be officiated by Eric Halvorson. The sermon with Aaron Cozort and Joe caisson has the closing prayer. Thank you for your attendance. Our opening song this morning will be number one, 144 O worship the King O worship the King. Oh, worship<inaudible> and gray Foley. See here’s Wanda for a shill.

Dan.<inaudible> a billion Dan Splenda and<inaudible><inaudible> it’s dreams from the Hills and send to the play. Hey and sweetly.<inaudible> nah,<inaudible> children de us and<inaudible> and<inaudible> find the two CS turned to the G and a greedy. And<inaudible>. So before our opening prayer will be number 797. Lord, we come before the now Lord, we come before the<inaudible>.

Oh dude.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> to<inaudible> and I know<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> the God pre the<inaudible> free.<inaudible> sorry.<inaudible> Right. Father walked in heaven. We thank to you for this beautiful first day of the week. The opportunity do we have to come together as that children who sang these songs, praise into the,

into worship, they just study a portion of I where we pray that the things that we learned here today will be in a quarter for that wheel. We pray that we can use these things to further that kingdom in this community, we pray that you would be with all of the ones that have been mentioned today to their sick and unable to be with us.

We pray that you would be with all of the ones that are suffering from the COVID virus. The ones that we know from this congregation and friends and all that and all over the world, we pray that you would be with him and comfort him. We pray that you would keep us safe from it. And then we try to do the things that the health people are advising us today.

We pray that you would be with our military people that are away from home. We pray that you keep them safe, comfort their families while they are away. We pray that you would be with the teachers of his congregation, that they continue to teach the truth and to help to save souls in this community. We pray that she would go with us and keep us safe and forgive us when we do wrong.

In Christ’s name, we pray amen. Song to prepare our minds for the Lord. Separate will be number 337. Hallelujah. What a savior man?<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> claim<inaudible><inaudible> Hey man.<inaudible> he used<inaudible><inaudible> blah<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> was he man,<inaudible> be<inaudible> lifted up. Was he too? Ah<inaudible> and<inaudible> ah, ah,<inaudible> when he comes<inaudible> is Ryan some to Bri then a new song.

Well, seeing<inaudible> We now have the opportunity to celebrate the ultimate sacrifice that God made for each and every one of us here. And that is when he sent his son here to live with us amongst here on earth and teach us, but ultimately die on that cross at Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. Join me as we pray for the bread,

God, our father in heaven, we come to you at this time, thanking you for your son. And we know it was a difficult and an ultimate sacrifice that you made for us. The center’s here on earth, but we are so grateful that you made that choice, that your son may hang on at cruel cross at Calvary. And as we prepare to take this bread,

which represents his body, let us remember exactly what that represents. We pray this through your son, Jesus name, amen. Our father. We come to you giving you thanks for everything you have done for us. And as we prepare to partake of this fruit of the vine, which represents your son’s blood, that he shed for our sins, help us to ponder that and truly think about what that means that his blood was shed for us.

He died for us so that we may have our sins forgiven. So we may live with you and heaven. One day, we pray this through your son’s name. Amen. Let me take this opportunity to say a prayer for the offering. God, our father in heaven. We know that it is from you, that all of our blessings truly flow.

And we are so thankful for each and every one of them. And as we prepare to give back a portion of this, to your needs and your works by donating funds to this church. So we may use these funds to further the spread of your word and your gospel here on earth. We ask that you help each and every one of us do it with a cheerful heart.

And we ask that you help the men of this congregation that oversee these funds, make decisions that are rightful and truly in helping spread your word. Those that are less Fortunate than us. And that is those that have not heard your word so that they may have that same opportunity we have as live with you forever. One day in eternity, we pray this through your son,

Jesus name, amen. The song before the lesson will be number 431 and break thou the bread of life. If you’re able to stand for this song, please, number 431<inaudible><inaudible> to me<inaudible> let’s see<inaudible> to me, to me. See<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> peace ma Oh, eh. Oh, you may be seated. Good morning. Good to be home.

It’s good to see each and every one of you, especially our visitors, Glad to have your presence with us, hope that you can make it a regular opportunity. This year in 2021, we are going to take one lesson each month. We’re going to focus on a word throughout the year that I believe has a great deal of emphasis for us and a great deal of import into our society,

our life and our existence today. That word is the word faithful. We’re going to begin that study looking at God’s description of a faithful man or a faithful person in order to get God’s perspective on this idea of faithful. We could look in the new Testament, but I really think we have to begin in the old Testament. Deuteronomy chapter nine, sorry.

Deuteronomy chapter seven. And in verse nine, God is speaking to Israel as they are preparing to go into the promised land. And he says to them beginning in verse nine, he says, therefore know that the Lord, your God, he is God. He begins with this premise that God Jehovah God, the Lord, God. The one who brought them out of Egypt is God.

And when God says I am God, he doesn’t mean I am one God, among many. He has shown beyond any doubt through his actions with Egypt. He is the true and living God. And so he says, therefore know that the Lord, your God, he is the Lord, your God. He is God. And notice this description, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations,

with those who love him and keep his commandments. As we begin this study concerning this idea of being faithful of faithfulness and everything it touches in our lives understand that God first desires requires commands faithfulness, because he is faithful. You and I, we make promises. We make commitments. We make agreements. And if we’re honest, and if we are those of sound,

mind, and striving to be what God would have us to be our intent, when we make those agreements is to fulfill what we have said, we will do no matter what kind of agreement it is, whether it’s an agreement to pay something to someone or an agreement on a loan or an agreement on just participation in an, in a transaction or, or,

or an activity with a friend. I was talking with a friend of mine just recently. And he’s been working out with some of the members of the congregation, where he attends and, and him and this friend of his and his wife, they go out every, every morning and they go work out and he had been doing this for a month or two.

And he had as a result of some things at work, he had been up all night. He worked from until 4:00 AM, one morning, then worked all day, then had to work all until three or 4:00 AM the next morning and then had to face the potential of not going and working out. And he went and worked out anyway because he knew if he didn’t do it once,

if he, if he said I can’t make it this time, there would be a thousand other reasons why I wouldn’t make it in the future. So he pushed through and he did it. And you and I, we face those struggles. We face those difficulties. We met, we face those choices. The reality is sometimes though, maybe out of no fault of our own,

maybe out of circumstances, we can’t even control. We can’t fulfill an obligation. We have made a commitment, a promise, and we have been on faithful to that commitment. Now this may be in a small matter, may be in an inconsequential matter. It may be in a temporary matter, but that’s not God Deuteronomy chapter seven verse nine tells us that God Jehovah the Lord.

He is God. And he is faithful to a thousand generations. Now women Moses makes this statement by inspiration through the power of the Holy spirit. He does not mean that to the thousand. And first-generation, God’s probably not going to be faithful to them. No, he means quite clearly that when you are faithful to the thousand generations that have come before the thousand and first generation can have no doubt and complete assurance that God will still be Faithful.

But he’s, He is faithful to those who love him and keep his commandments. And he repays those who hate him to their face to destroy them. He will not be Slack with him who hates him. He will repay him too. His face. Moses makes it clear. As he speaks to the children of Israel. God is faithful to those who love him.

And he’s faithful to those who hate him. He will be faithful to himself always. And therefore what he has said He will do. So as we begin, we need to, I understand that God desires faithful Because he is faithful. There was a time in Israelite history. First Samuel chapter two, That God replaced his high priest. He not only replaced his high priest,

but he replaced the whole priestly lineage, Age and family In first Samuel chapter two as Eli and his sons were the current high priest and priests. God delivers a message to Eli. In first Samuel chapter two, and in verse 35, then I will raise up for myself. Now notice the wording. God says, I’m going to do this and I’m going to do it because of me because of who I am.

Therefore, I will raise up for myself, a faithful priest who shall do according to what is In my heart. You go back into the proceeding versus you will find out that Eli’s sons, Hoff, Diane Finney has, who were supposed to be serving. As priests were instead causing the people to transgress. They were committing for an occasion in the very front of the tabernacle.

They were committing adultery. They were, they were stealing. They were holding those people’s offerings, bounty for what they could receive for offering the sacrifices. They were doing all sorts of things. And God said, this isn’t going to stand my priests. Aren’t going to do this. And Eli and his sons would be replaced, but God says, I’m going to replace you with someone who will do according to what is in my heart.

And in my mind, I will build him a sure house. And he shall walk before my annoying Forever. Samuel would be that high priest, the priesthood and the family would transition in Eli’s family. His lineage would end God is serious about faithfulness. And second Timothy chapter two, Paul writes to Timothy. And as he is writing to this young preacher,

he sets a charge before Timothy, as a preacher. He instills in Timothy, the requirement that Timothy be about a particular task And That task hasn’t changed for preachers across every century from then, until now, Paul writes to Timothy and saying to any chapter two, and in verse one, he says, you, therefore, my son be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Yeah. Paul writes to Timothy and he says, you be on the lookout for a particular kind of person. You, as you minister, you be searching for a particular group of people. The qualification for which Paul States,

Timothy needs to be looking for is not those who are rich. Not those who are poor, not those who are tall are, those were short. Those were fat. Or those who were skinny. He says, the qualification is those who are faithful. And you find someone who’s faithful. And here’s what you do. You take the things that you’ve heard from me among many witnesses.

You take the things that are is the bulk and the meat and the body of what I’ve taught you. And you instill it into them. And Then you give them the charge to go give it to somebody else. And the prime responsibility is they function as stewards of a gift. Paul would write to the church at Corinth about the treasure that had been Placed in them as Earthen vessels.

The word of God Handed to them that they in turn should deliver it. Proclaim it, preach it faithfully to others, But not only teach it, they had to also live it. God desires, faithful men, but there’s a Psalm in the old Testament that gives a warning. And I want to spend the bulk of the rest of our time in that Psalm,

Psalm 12 is a Psalm of David. And it presents a warning. A warning that I believe is needed is resoundingly needed in our country. Not only in our congregations, but in our congregations, but in our country, in our society and in our world Was at the very heart of some of the biggest problems. Our society He has is this problem.

This Thing that David’s going To warn about, he begins help, help Lord for The godly man, Ceases for the faithful disappear from among the sons of men, David in this song cries out for God’s help. He cries out for God’s aid because he can’t find faithful men Among God’s people. This isn’t just a problem amongst the priesthood in David’s day, it’s not just about the spiritual leaders.

It’s about finding men who will Hold forth, the Attributes of faithfulness throughout their lives, throughout every aspect of their existence. And David is going to confront Using the words of the Lord, the attributes Of those who are on Faithful, Because if you want an under an understanding of God’s description of a faithful man, one of the things God will present to you is what he is not what a faithful man will not do.

What he will not be involved in. And David says, as he looks at his world, as he looks at his society, as he looks at his nation, this is all I can find. He says, verse two, they speak. I believe every one with his neighbor. As he looks down upon the people he sees idleness, He sees idol Speech.

Jesus made a point about Idle speech. He said that when the judgment comes, a man will give an account for all the words that he Speaks. And he warns against idle speech. You and I, we have an opportunity in our lives to speak hundreds of thousands of words, to communicate thoughts, emotions, feeling, instruction, desires contemplations, but as stewards of the gift of communication,

how are we using it? Are we only investing our time and effort and energies in communicating that which has no real lasting value. David looks at These individuals and he sees their interests and their speech only revolves around temporary Earthly things. And they are idle in their speech, but he goes on to say yes, That they speak with flattering lips and with a double heart,

They speak it. It’s it’s, it’s bad enough that their speech has no value, but then they turn around and they use their speech to lift up others artificially, to flatter them. When in their heart, their only desire is for themselves. One of the attributes of a faithful person, discipline Just over in the book of Proverbs that we’re not going to get into in any depth in this lesson.

But we will before this course of lessons is over, is the attribute of a faith Full friend who will tell you something that hurts, but he’ll tell it to you because you need to hear it yet. These people aren’t that kind of person. These people, that David is looking at their idol in their speech and they’re flattering in their lips. And they’re double hearted Because yeah,

Their intent is to provoke others to action that only benefits themselves. And David says, these are not faithful people, but he goes on to say, may the Lord cut off all flattering lips? As the King, as a man Can have wealth as a man of prosperity. As a man who had led others into battle had conquered, had discovered the power that existed in serving the Lord.

We know as we go through the history of David and we look at the things that he endured, the things he went through, that he was surrounded by some people who were The worst of humanity. But here’s the reality. When you have wealth, you will generally end up inevitably at some point, surrounded by people who have only that type of desire.

They’ll say anything to you, but not because they care for you, but because they want what you have. And David will say, may the Lord cut off all flattering lips and the tongue That speaks proud things. This isn’t David saying, I don’t want them to have what I have this isn’t David going, I’m selfish. And I want to keep everything I have.

And I don’t want to share with no, no, no, that’s not it David’s saying they have a problem with pride in their hearts. And it is interfering With faithfulness among the people in verse six, we read the words of the Lord are pure words. He’s accused them of idle speech, but He contrasts their idol speech With the Lord’s words. If they had set aside all of their own words,

if they had set aside all their own thoughts, if they had set aside, all of the things that they thought were they were, that were important. And just spoken the words of the Lord, he would have said, they spoke. You are words, but they wouldn’t do that. As a matter of fact, if you look at verse four,

we read who have said those who have flattering lips, those who have tongues that speak proud things they have said with our tongue, We will prevail. Our lips are our own. I’m in control. They said, I get to say whatever I want. No one can tell me what to say. I get to look out for me too. I get what I want to do,

what I want and use my Long to accomplish it. But they would also say not only our lips are our own, but who is Lord over us? A faithful man tied up in all of this is the lesson that a faithful man is a submissive man. David Looks at his people and says, I can’t find any faithful men. They’re disappearing as if someone’s coming in the midst of the night and kidnapping them.

They’re being drawn aside. They’re being drawn away into the desires of their flesh, the desires of their heart and their mind and their pride and their desire and their flattery is stealing them from faithfulness to those who are around them. And has you think back over the life of David, think about how many betrayals, those closest to him committed. And David can’t find a faithful man of his own children.

Multiple men would arise seeking to kill him and take the throne. But in verse five, he says for the oppression of the poor, for the signing of the needy, Oh, here it is. They prevail with their tongues. They use their speech to get what they want. They claim their lips are their own and no one is Lord over them,

but who are they acting against? Who are they using the build themselves up? He says, they’re using the poor. They’re using the needy Absalom. One of David’s sons would stand and would sit out side the city. And as he sought power and prominence among the people, as the people would come in to be judged, he would stop them outside the city.

And he’d say, you won’t get any judgment in there. They don’t have time for you. You’ll never get the decision that you want. If you go to the King for judgment, let me judge you. And he would sit outside the city and he would judge in favor of those who would support him. And before long, he turn The nation’s heart against their King by flattery of lips and deceitful actions.

And the oppression of the poor verse five says, now I will arise, says the Lord. Isn’t David saying, I’m going to get on my high horse and I’m going to get my army together. And we’re going to go out and we’re going to take vengeance on all these unfair, Well, men know, the Lord says, Now I will arise.

Now I will arise. As the Lord, I will set him in the safety for which he yearns. God says, I’m going to defend the poor. I’m going to defend the needy. I’m going to stand between the unfaithful And the oppressed. The words of the Lord are pure words. Silver tried in a furnace of earth. Purified seven times. You shall keep them all.

Lord use shall preserve them from this generation forever. David Expresses the necessity of treasuring up as it were of storing up God’s words, to keep them from a generation That would use them for their own profit. They would use them for their own ends. As if God is saying, I’m going to take my covenant. I’m going to take my long and take my words.

And I’m going to hold them back from you. I’m not giving them to you because you’ll only abuse them Because you are faithful in your very B verse eight says the wicked prowl on every side, when vileness is exalted among the sons of men, David presents to God’s people, a warning. He said, you look around you and faithful. Men are disappearing.

I would say in the years I’ve been alive. And that I have had time to observe that in the church, faithful men are disappearing. We have too many men who are too Focused on This life and cannot focus on God. And because of that, they do not leave their homes. They do not lead their families. They do not instruct their children.

They do not instruct faithful men. They do not set themselves to follow the Lord. In Isaiah’s day, Isaiah would confront his generation and Isaiah chapter one. I want to read a few of the verses as we close from Isaiah chapter one, because God confronts a nation, a city of people that had the opportunity to be faithful. They still had a chance in Isaiah’s day.

They wouldn’t take it and they’re going to be judged. But Isaiah, right? And Isaiah chapter one beginning in verse 21, how the faithful city has become a harlot. One of the attributes that is specific to the idea of a harlot is someone who will do anything for money. And Isaiah confronts his generation and says, you, you used to be a faithful city,

and now you will do anything for money. Verse 21, he says it was full of justice and righteousness lodged in it. But now murderers, your silver has become draws your wine mixed with water. Your princes are rebellious. You’re in companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless nor does the cause of the widow come before them.

What is it that God just talked about in Psalm chapter 12? That same thing. They will not help those in need. They will not defend the defenseless. They not serve The oppressed. They will not even give them justice For all they want is money. Therefore, the Lord says, verse 24, the Lord of hosts, the mighty one of Israel.

Ah, I will rid myself of my Adversaries. I remember Deuteronomy chapter seven. God said I will be faithful to those who love me and keep my commandments to a thousand generations. And I will be faithful to them. Those who hate me, the Lord says, ah, I will rid myself of my adversaries and take vengeance on my enemies. I will turn my hand against you.

Now he’s speaking to Israel. He says, I will turn my hand against you and thoroughly purge away your draws And take away all your alloy. I will restore your judges as at the first. And your counselors is at the beginning afterward. You shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. He says, Israel, you were one, The faithful city.

And yet you’ve become a harlot, But I’m going to turn you around. And it won’t be a pretty experience. He says, I’m Going to burn off All the corruption. Notice he goes on. He says, Zion will be redeemed with justice and her penitence with righteousness, the destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together. And those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed for.

They shall be ashamed of the terrible trees, which you have desired. You shall be embarrassed because of the gardens, which you have chosen. He’s pointing out their idolatry. He’s pointing out their places of worship, their high places, the places they constructed to go worship the foreign gods. He says, you’re going to be embarrassed at those. I’m going to turn you against those.

He says, verse 34, you shall be as a terrible whose leaf fades. And as a garden that has no water. You’ll The dead. The strong shall be as Tinder. And the work of it as a spark, both will burn together and no one shall quench them. God’s description of a faithful man is one who loves him and keeps his commandments.

Yes, but One who will not allow Injustice to continue. One who will not turn a blind eye To oppression. One who will not Set aside justice for profit, but also One who will not flatter To engross themselves, who will, I’ll not speak idle words instead of the word of the Lord, who will not be double hearted and Double tongue. But God makes it clear to the unfaithful.

When I judge you, no one will stop me. No one will hold me back. And as he Takes the analogy of the strong one who has been turned into Tinder, they’re so dried out. They’re they’re like the forests in California. He alight. Imagine there’s no stopping it Because I’m going to take the strong ones among you. And I’m going to be that.

And I’m going to take their own, works their own deeds. And I’m going to light them on fire with it. And no one Will quench my judgment. God is faithful to those who love him and keep his commandments and to those who hate him as well. So the question is which one are we? And are we faithful? And not only faithful,

but producing more, who are faithful for that is part of our faithfulness. You’re here this morning and you’re outside the body of Christ. You stand in a position of judgment. These days, Hebrews chapter nine tells us this. Life’s going to be over. You’re going to stand before God in judgment. Because of that, you need to know where you stand.

Do you stand God as One who is faithful? If you’re outside the body of Christ, you don’t. Because while God loves those who love him and keep his commandments. One of his commandments is the requirement for salvation. The requirement of obedience to enter into the body of Christ, the place where salvation has found the church for which Christ died. And he shed his blood.

You enter into that body by hearing the word of God and believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God. Jesus said, except you believe that I am. He you’ll die in your sins. Paul wrote it this way. Either. You are one who believes in him, or you are an alien from him, separated from him and an enemy of God.

You can’t be both. And you can’t find a third option. You’re either one or the other. Having believed that Jesus Christ is the son of God. You have to conform your life to him. The one who loves God and keeps his commandments, but conforming your life means repenting of your sins and confessing the name of Christ, submitting to him and being immersed in water,

dying to your old self, rising in again, to walk in newness of life, Romans chapter six, verses three and four, and then being faithful until death because revelation chapter two tells us James chapter one tells us that the one who’s faithful unto death will receive a crown of life. So if you want to know when this life is over, exactly which category you fit into,

faithful or unfaithful, and there’s only two, that’s where you need to begin. If you’re a member of the body of Christ and your faithfulness looks like it’s disappearing. If David would look at your life and go, no, I’m looking for a faithful man. And that’s not one. Maybe it’s time to turn around. You have need of the invitation for any reason why not come now as we stand in,

as we sing<inaudible> from the source.<inaudible><inaudible> well, you<inaudible> to the fountain free. Well, you<inaudible> me. The<inaudible> here. The welcome call is a fountain up for, Oh, there’s a living stream with a crystal gleam.<inaudible> hear the call for free. They go, Oh, well you come to the fountain free. Will you<inaudible><inaudible> Oh,

open for, Oh, there’s a rock that’s<inaudible><inaudible> and it’s dream. I see. Let<inaudible> to the fountain free. Well, you<inaudible> thirsty<inaudible> you may be seated. Sandra comes forward saying she hasn’t been faithful. It hasn’t been focused on spiritual things. The way she wants To be been too focused on discomforts. She wants to do better.

And we are overjoyed for that. We all throughout our lives have difficulty keeping focus on what’s important. And I think that’s why so much of scripture focuses us back. If we’ll Listen to what’s important, What to pray for Cassandra right now, Not only that she will be forgiven, But that her direction and focus Will become what she desires for it to be.

But that she will also be an example for all of us to do the same. Let’s pray our gracious father in heaven. Come before you at this time with tender hearts, care, concern and love for our sister, Cassandra and her desire to be faithful, her desire to become closer to you and to focus on the turtle more than the temporal. Each one of us needs that desire as well and are encouraged by her example of repentance and willingness to say,

I can do better. We pray for Cassandra that you will forgive her. She repents of these things, that you will aid her in setting her feet on a right path. We also pray that we will be an encouragement and a comfort and a strength and a bulwark for her as she goes through this journey of setting things, right? We ask that you be with this congregation as a whole,

in our faithfulness, we ask that you bless this family that we have here, that we watch out for one another and we help one another. In our struggles, we pray for continued blessings, Cassandra and forgiveness and grace and mercy, as they are sought. And as they are offered through the blood of your son, all this, we pray in Jesus name.

Amen. For the closing, prayer will be number 642. Let the loan Or lights be burning. All things Right? Lee beams off there’s mercy from his NA side house<inaudible> but to a us, he gives a key PE of the nights.<inaudible><inaudible> send a gleam, a cross<inaudible> struggling. See man, you may rescue. You may say,

Hey dog.<inaudible><inaudible> for the lights.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> struggling. See man, you may rescue<inaudible><inaudible> some<inaudible><inaudible> and<inaudible><inaudible> sin Glebe, a cross<inaudible> struggling. See man,<inaudible> Let us bow. Dear God, our father in heaven, we truly are so thankful that we’ve been able to gather today to worship Eve, to be able to study from your word and be guided by those principles that you have set for us to live by father.

We’re grateful for every member of this body of Christ here. We’re so thankful for the love that we have for each other. And we pray father that as we go through life, that we not only demonstrate that love to our physical family, but our spiritual family. And they, we have thoughts of an eternal nature. That those are the things that got our ways upon this earth that we realized that we have what a short time to do your will,

and to try to reach others with the gospel and to try to become the fateful that truly care more about things of any eternal nature than those of a physical nature. We pray father that you give us the strength and the courage to do those things that might reach out to those that are lost. Those things that might encourage those that have fallen away from you,

that they too might want to come back and be faithful. Father help us each day that we live, that we look to your word, that we might always direct our lives in the proper direction that we always are about trying to demonstrate our love for others in our care and concern and compassion for one another, strengthen us as we go through life. We’re so thankful for the lesson that Aaron so adequately covered this morning,

we should ponder upon those thoughts and be concerned with how we are living our lives. Bless us as we’re about to depart, strengthen us. As we continue to look to your word in Jesus name, we pray. Amen.

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The Search Is Over

In General by Aaron Cozort

By: Morne Stephanus – www.moralcom.org

The World is searching, searching for something. Some are searching for riches others for glory. Some are frantically searching for the next high, living a life dedicated to the desires of the flesh. There is no satisfaction in their endeavors and no outcome that will comfort their minds and satisfy their souls. The world is looking for the wrong things in all the “right” places. For those of us who have been adopted into the family of God by obedience to the Gospel (Galatians 3:26-27), the search is over.

In Christ, we have found everything we need. The Lord promised us the abundant life (John 10:10) and this promise is fulfilled in every facet of pure Christianity. In Christ, our physical needs are satisfied by the promises, precepts, and providence of a God who cannot lie (Psalm 37:25, Galatians 6:9-10 & Matthew 6:33).

Our spiritual needs are satisfied by the mercy of an all-compassionate God (2 Peter 1:3 & 2 Timothy 3:16-17). Furthermore, our future home in heaven is secured by and in the Captain of our Salvation (John 14:1-3 & 1 John 5:11). Truly the Christian’s life is one lived in satisfaction, rooted in peace and wholesome pleasure. Brethren our search is over, we have found in the Lord what the world is still looking for and don’t know they need. To God be the Glory! So, considering this fact how are you portraying Christianity?

Do people see you content in the Lord and rejoicing evermore (Hebrews 13:5-6 & Philippians 4:4)?  Or are you still searching for something you don’t know you’ve already found? Sometimes we forget and need to be reminded that Christianity is not a good life it is the good life. It is a life filled with immense joy, peace, and hope.

In Christ, we enjoy the godly pleasures of this world (1 Timothy 6:17) and when all is said and done we will enjoy the pleasures of the next (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18). Folks are searching frantically for something to satisfy their souls. In Christ, we have found that satisfaction. Therefore, let’s show it to and share it with those who have not.

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12-30-2020 – Live Stream – Matthew 5 (M. Dale)

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

All right. We’re looking kind of sparse tonight, but I think that it’s about time to get started. Just a quick update on my wife. She had her colonoscopy and endoscopy today and the preliminary stage, everything looks good, but we’re waiting for the results of her biopsies to come back. And she’s now dealing with a severely sore throat. It’s not normal.

It’s like, like her throat feels like it’s bleeding. She says, so she has to go back to the doctor to find out what that’s all about. Hopefully she’s not having some kind of allergic reaction or something, but keep her in your prayers. I want to let you know that the questions on the top say Mark chapter five. But if you look at the actual questions they are from Matthew chapter five,

not Mark chapter five. And we will be going through Matthew chapter five, beginning of Christ’s sermon on the Mount. Go ahead and have a prayer before we begin our father in heaven. How Holy and awesome you are. We thank you for this opportunity that we have to come together and worship you and learn your word. We ask that we soak it up like a spun.

So we’re able to go out and teach it to those that are lost. We ask that you be with those that are traveling at this time. The weather is not fantastic for travel, but we do appreciate, and thank you for the rain. My, my Lord. And we ask that you get everybody home safely. And we ask that you be with those that are ailing and heal that put your healing hand on them.

And if it be your will bring them back to us to worship you. And thank you so much again for your son who died on the cross for our sins in his name. Amen. All right. So we’re going from Matthew chapter five beginning in verse one and seeing the multitudes. He went up into a mountain and when he was set, his disciples came onto him.

Jesus often resorted to the mountains. So as to provide an occasion for rest to instruct his disciples, many examples of this in the scriptures, Matthew 1423, Mark three 13, six 46, Luke six, 12, nine, 28, John six, 15, et cetera, et cetera. There’s a lot of examples of Jesus retreating into a mountain to,

to rest and teach. Sitting down to teach was a procedure that was long followed in the early church. Sitting to teach was an indication of authority. It has been noted that in the early church, the preacher sat and the congregation, including the emperors stood, most of the cathedrals of Europe were still without pews or other seating facilities for the congregation, the reformer Martin Luther.

I’m sure a lot of us know who he is. I alluded to this custom, when he said objecting to the Pope’s remaining seated to observe the Lord’s supper, let him stand up. When he takes the communion like any other sinner, while the mountain, while in the mountain, Matthew tells us that his disciples came unto him suggesting that they took the initiative.

It has been commented that this sermon on the Mount was spoken the ear of the church and overheard by the world verse number two. And he opened it his mouth and taught them, saying our English translate a Greek phrase here that was used of solemn grave and dignified utterance. And so this was, this is a very solemn utterance that he’s speaking. Jesus spoke with the full tone voice of power with an open mouth blessed.

The word appears at the beginning of each of the beatitudes, the English word translate the Greek Makarios and the full meaning of the word is difficult to capture in one single English word. Generally it means happy, blessed. Last vines dictionary noted that it is akin to<inaudible> from a re root Mack, meaning large lengthy denotes to pronounce happy or blessed. I’m blessed has nothing to do with happiness in the popular sense of pleasure and prosperity.

Rather it indicates an inner joy independent of outward circumstances. So let’s go to verse three. Most of the, most of the, all of them, the beatitudes begin with the word blessed. That’s why I went into the explanation of blessed verse three, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. What does it mean to be poor in spirit?

This is to have a self emptying conviction. This is to have the knowledge that before God, we are completely void of everything, we do not want to be spiritually arrogant. That is what this means. We transform our mind as stated by Paul in Romans 12 one and two and Ephesians four 23. And this is to have a humble and contrite spirit,

Isaiah 57, 15 and other various passages. Why are we to be poor in spirit though? Jesus States say right here in the verse, it is to gain the kingdom of heaven. The poor in spirit are enriched with the fullness of Christ, which is the kingdom and substance. We have the hope of eternal life because of this. My coming to an understanding that without God,

we are nothing, we have the hope of eternal life. Verse four, blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. But what is is this morning that he’s talking about here? This isn’t just a crying. This isn’t just, you know, standing there sobbing, this is a sincere morning or lament over your sins that he’s speaking of, we are to mourn our sins,

our sins, to the point of repentance. Paul stated this in second Corinthians, seven, nine, and 10. And I would read all of the scriptures or have y’all read all of the scriptures. But as this 48 verses, we have to get through in 45 minutes. How are we blessed by that sincere lament over our sins? Jesus tells us that we will be comforted.

If we have a sincere, sincere lament or repentance of our sins. This is a comfort that can only be found in the Lord. Jesus Christ. Matthew writes this in 1128 through 30 verse five, blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. But what is it to be meek to be meek is to have a great strength, but to have that strength under the control of God to be subject unto God,

showing consideration for all men. So we have a strength to be able to do whatever we want. Our free will. That’s our strength, but we give that freewill up to God. Whenever we become Christians, I have heard that it said that meekness is like in unto attained, must Mustang. They are powerful and strong, but they have to put that strength into subjection under their master.

How are, how are the meek blessed? Jesus says they shall inherit the earth. We will inherit all things. John States in revelation 21 seven and all things shall be ours. As Christians. First Corinthians three 20 through 23, let’s throw they, which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled verse six. What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Hunger will make a person yearn and seek for that, which will make him full. If you’re starving to death, you’re going to be seeking out anything you possibly can to get food and your stomach. I’m not starving to death. So I don’t have to do that. What are, what are we to hunger for though? Jesus States we’re to hunger for the word in John chapter six 47 through 51,

thirst will drive a person to not give up until their thirst is Quinn Or until they die. What are we to thirst for in John chapter four is the story of Jesus at the well, the event is truly inspiring, but the scripture that points out what we are the thirst for as John four 14, the living water, the water that flows from Christ.

The word We are to make every effort to seek what is righteous and to put it all in the center of our lives. That’s what this means to hunger as if starving and to thirst as if dying for the word and to do God’s will we are to hunger and thirst for righteousness to be filled. If we continue to desire to go to heaven and seek his will,

we will go to heaven. Matthew 10 22, Jesus SIRS assures us of this and John eight 31 and 32, that we will be free. We will never thirst or hunger again, as stated in revelation seven, 16 and 17 verse seven, blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. How are we to be merciful as Christians? How are we to be merciful to anybody Forgiveness?

That’s how we show mercy by forgiving, by forgiving, we must forgive to receive forgiveness. Matthew six, 14, and 15 Jesus States that Peter asked the Christ. How often shall we forgive? And in turn, Jesus tells him the parable of the unforgiving debtor, Matthew 1822 through 35 most know and understand where to forgive 70 times seven, basically as many times as they keep asking for forgiveness,

we give them forgiveness. Verse eight, let’s start the pure in heart for, they shall see God to be Kiran. Heart is not a facade. It is a reflection of the image of God, likened to the cornea of one’s eyes, to project God into our heart. So to take God completely into your heart, that is to be pure of heart.

To give your heart completely over your heart, your mind, sorry, over to God completely. We must be on the inside. What we proclaim to be on the outside. We say, we’re Christians. We need to live and act like Christians. We know in this life, no man can see God and live. As we can read an Exodus 33 verse 20.

When our reward, when life is over is to see God which we know is impossible. Without a pure heart, we must have a pure hard to see God as stated by Jesus here in verse eight, verse nine, blessed are the peacemakers shall be called the children of God. Peacemaker is one that is led by the spirit of God. We can read that enrollments chapter eight and verse 14 one.

It is one who loves their enemies. Luke chapter six and verse 35. We will be called. If we are peacemakers, then we will be called the children of God. We will be the children of the father in heaven. Matthew five 43 45 tells us that if we are Christians, we will be the children of the father in heaven. And we are the sons of God.

First, John three chapter one verse 10, blessed are they, which are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. If we live godly lives, we’re going to be persecuted. This is is told to us by Paul in second, Timothy chapter three in verse 12, if you, if you live a godly life, you’re going to be persecuted period.

We are blessed because of this persecution. Verse 11 says blessed. Are you when men shall revile you and persecute you. So we’re blessed because of our persecution that we have to endure. We are to be happy in our sufferings for Christ’s sake. First Peter three 14, and we have an equal inheritance with Christ, Romans eight, 16, and 17.

So we have a hope in heaven. As long as, as we stand the stand through the prosecutions, then our hope through standing through that persecution is heaven. That’s the goodness that we’re going to inherit. Verse 11, blessed are ye. When men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely. For my sake,

revile here is a reproach, a defamation. There were a violin and evil speaking by which one suffers in. We are to rejoice under these circumstances. No matter what people say about us, we rejoice because we know where we’re going when we’re gone and we still continue to push for their salvation, no matter what they say about us. Verse 12, rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted,

they, the prophets, which were before you, the Lord rejoice here is the same word used in Philippians chapter four and verse six, meaning to rejoice and is most frequently translated by this English word. Rejoice. The word has the meaning of leaping for joy. So we were to rejoice and be exceeding glad because of our reward in heaven, leaping for joy,

exceeding glad, like laughing. You’re so happy. Being exceeding glad from one Greek word is a, and I’m not going to see all the Greek words. It means exaltation or exuberant joy. This indicates more joy than the Greek word for rejoice that we just spoke about. And the Septuagint, this word is found chiefly in the Psalms where it denotes joy in God’s redemptive work,

our reward, Ms. Dos, primarily wages higher, and then generally reward the profits received the persecution characteristic of those who live righteous lives. It is the natural Results of light meeting darkness. When the, when this occurs, the darkness rises up in rebellion and lashes out at those who are the instruments of that light verse 13, you are the salt of the earth,

but if the salt have lost his savor wherewith, shall it be salted? It is then sports good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men, salt has been used from the Memorial as an agent. And the preservation of meets the multitudes, which heard Jesus were familiar with its use in curing fish. It’s it is stated that the pickled Vish of Galilee were known throughout the Roman world.

It is worthy of note that the salt of Palestine gathered from the marshes is not pure. So when you go to the dead sea, you’re not getting a pure salt. It’s got all those minerals and things inside of it because of the foreign substances in it. It loses its savor and becomes insipid and useless when exposed to the sun and air, or when permitted for any considerable time to come in contact with the ground.

But pure salt does not lose its savor. So anytime it con this salt comes into contact with air for a long period of time or hits the ground, then it’s tasteless. It has no taste and pure salt. It doesn’t matter what you do with it. It’s going to continue to have its its tastes. And Jesus here is telling us to be that pure salt.

The verse teaches that God’s people keep the world from putrefaction and corruption. So because we are the salt, we preserve the world from basically what it’s going through right now and what it’s been going through for the last 2000. And so on years throughout history, back and forth, there was not salts enough in the world to save it from the flood and sought him to save it from fire Northern Canaan,

to preserve its people from destruction and also teaches as does experience that a disciple may lose those qualities, which make him salt lawsuits. The verb is from Moros, which means Dole, sluggish, stupid or foolish, and means to play the fool to become foolish of salt, becomes tasteless insipid Mark nine 50. It is common and Syria and Palestine to see salt scattered in piles on the ground because it has lost its flavor.

The most worthless thing imaginable is what they say. It is this salt that has no saver. It’s the most worthless thing you can imagine. It’s it’s good for nothing. The word for good is actually a word, meaning strength to be strong, be well, be in good health. Matthew nine, 12 to have power or efficiency avail be valid. Thus,

when it has lost its twinge, its taste, et cetera, and no longer has any power. So it is with the Christian. When we cease to be distinct different unique, it is at that moment in time that we cease to be effective. If we S if we see is to lose our uniqueness as a Christian, we are no longer effective for Christ.

And for his kingdom, we have lost our power verse 14. Yes are the light of the world. A city that is set on a Hill cannot be hid as light disciples, darkness and enables a man to see his way. So the Christian by his teaching and example, removes ignorance and prejudice and discloses this the way of life, the word ye here,

each one of us individually, and collectively serve as light bearers and light reflectors to a world. Stumbling and darkness of the world. Light is to shine in the world in which he lives. The child of God is not a monk in some monastery, nor is his faith to be secret like salt. It is to influence those about us. The city set on a Hill as individuals.

We are the light to those. We come in contact with every single day, but as a body of believers, we are like a city set on a Hill. The church reflecting the light of Christ is of necessity, a conspicuous body so that neither its blemishes nor its beauty can be concealed for air. And for protected protection, cities were frequently built upon Hills,

Jerusalem and Samaria were both Hill cities. And we say our kingdom Christ kingdom is set on a Hill. We seen constantly of it. Zion ni verse 15. Let me see where I’m at. All right. There’s 15, neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick. And it give us light unto the all that are in the house.

So the word land here is the most appropriate word in, in the King James version. It says candle candles did not exist at the time of the writing of this scripture. So it’s actually a wrong word to use. Lamp is more appropriate. The lamp is being placed upon the stand, not under the bushel, being the light of the world. Wisdom should be used in placing ourselves before men.

We should buy up the opportunities in order that we might constantly present ourselves before the world, as representatives of our Lord under the bushel translate HUPO htan Moda. Modi’in the figure is taken from lowly cottage life. There was a projecting stone in the wall on which the lamp was set. The house consisted of a single room so that the, the tiny lights sufficed for all the bushel was an earthenware green measure.

There is a definite article to thus designate the Capitol, the green measure, which was common to every house. So they didn’t hide it under that green measure. They put it out for everybody to see verse 16, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father, which is in heaven. The light of the Christian is to shine.

Not Austin<inaudible>, but naturally an unavoidably. We’re not out there. Look at me, I’m a Christian. And that’s how we let our light shine. Our light shines just by the way we live, by the way we approach people and how we talk about God as Christians. It is a shine, not only in his teaching or profession, but in such works and actions as unprejudiced men must acknowledge to be real excellence sees moreover,

it must so shine that it shall not when praise for itself, but for him who kindled it, men do not praise the street lamps, which protect them from robbery and assault, but they praise the municipal administration, which furnaces the lamps. So we are not out there being a light for God. So that way we get the praise. We are out there being a light for God.

So people can give God the praise for being the one that actually protects them and gives them their eternal home verse 17, think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill the word for destroy suggests a destruction of something, the word means to lose down or demolish the word fulfill. It means to fill,

to come to full or to come to pass. Our English word is defined by Webster, thus to carry out as a promise, to do a duty, to bring to an end, to complete the law here. And this includes the whole of the law, moral and ceremonial aspects of the law being included. The profits refers to those men who were spokesman of God and the books written by them.

All of the prophecies of Christ were fulfilled instead of coming to destroy either the law or the prophets. Jesus came to fulfill all the types of the former and eventually all the unfulfilled predictions of the latter. He fulfills them partly in his own person and partly by his administration of the affairs of his kingdom. Verse 18, for verily, I say unto you till heaven and earth pass one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled.

So the John here or yod answering to answering to our letter, I was the smallest of the Hebrew letters. That’s jot the I, the smallest of the Hebrew letters. The tittle was a little stroke of the pen, by which alone, some of the Hebrew letters were distinguished from others like them. So to put it in English, we distinguished the letter C see from the letter E by the tittle inside,

you have the C the E is that, that little line right there that makes it an E is the tittle. This passage not only teaches that the law was to remain in full force until fulfilled, but it shows the precise accuracy with which the law was given by God, God had every dot on the eye tittle and the E everything was perfect. Verse 19 whosoever,

therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men. So he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, but whosoever shall do and teach them the same shall be all great in the kingdom of heaven. This obedience is a habit and it is not easily laid aside. Hence he, that is unfaithful as that, which is little,

will also be unfaithful in that, which is great. So also those who were disobedient and reckless under the Jewish dispensation, the old law would be inclined to act in like manner and the new or Christian dispensation. Hence the warning, not only shall God call such least, but men shall all men also shall eventually do. Likewise, those do by false system of interpretation or an undue regard for the traditions of men and nerve eight or a Knoll,

the obligations of Christ’s laws or ordinances and teach others to do the same. These shall be held in low esteem or contempt by the church or kingdom of God, as fast as it comes to a knowledge of the truth. So as soon as we know that these men are doing something wrong, we bring it to light. Immediately. Greatness in the kingdom of heaven is measured by conscientious and reference to its least commandments,

small Christians obey the great commandments, but only the large are careful about them. Verse 20 for I say, unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. You shall, in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven since the scribes and Pharisees were models of righteousness in their own sight. Anyway, and in the sight of the people that surrounded them,

Jesus here laid down a very high ideal though. One may now enter the kingdom of heaven having of himself far less righteousness than that, of the Pharisees. Yet he must attain righteousness superior to theirs, or he cannot abide in the kingdom. A large portion of the sermon from this point on is a development of the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven in contrast,

with old dispensation righteousness and Pharisaic interpretation of it, the laws of Moses regulated civil conduct and being state laws, they could only have regard to overt acts, but the laws of the kingdom of Christ are given to the individual and regulate his inner spiritual condition and the very initial motives of conduct. And it, the spirit feeling are all acts first, John,

three 15, sorry. If I sound very Reedy, I’m just, there’s a lot. So, and I, I spent a lot of time on his own verse 21. You have heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not kill and whosoever shall kill, shall be in danger of the judgment. And essence Jesus was saying basically,

okay, you have heard what the professional scholars have said regarding a certain aspect of the law. You have seen them follow those laws of old burdened with their human additions and interpretations. Now, let me tell you what the law really teaches this, of course he had the right to do because of who he is. He’s God incarnate. It is interesting that Jesus did not say it was written thus.

And so this is because Jesus was not refuting the mosaic law. What, what was said to them of old time was the scholarly interpretation of that law. And not necessarily what the law actually taught to them of old in this, in this, it would seem that the fairest is put some stock and how old a particular position had been held, or how widely practice,

a tradition that had become that seemed to be the authority. The argument, we have never done it that way before, or this is the way we have always done this around here is not authoritative to God. It’s not in God’s word, just because you’ve always done it that way. Doesn’t mean that’s the way that it’s supposed to be done. Thou shall not kill.

This is the intentional shedding of blood with malice provisions were made for accidental death resulting from a number of circumstances. What Jesus in the law address were intentional acts of taking one’s life. Jesus is quoting from Exodus chapter 20 and verse 13 and Deuteronomy chapter five in verse 17 thou shall not kill. And the, and the 10 commandments and danger of the judgment.

This refers to the conviction and the punishment by the authorities. The freeze shall be in danger of the judgment was the civil punishment. It was the civil punishment that those who were of old were concerned about it would appear that those who simply stress the strict application of the law, thou shalt not kill. We’re not in the least concerned about answering to God,

the scribal and Pharisaic use of the word kill referred only to the actual physical, physical act of murder for it was the act that would bring a man before the courts and judgment. The conclusion which they drew was that if you do not commit direct murder, then you are supposedly pure before God. So if you go higher or somebody to commit the murder,

you’re okay before God, if you just set it up so that they can die, then it’s not on me before God. That’s the way that they had looked at it because of their false traditions throughout history, verse 22. But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother,

Rocca shall be in danger of the council, but whosoever shall say, thou fool shall be in danger of hell fire. So, but I say unto you, Jesus thus assumes a tone of superiority over the mosaic regulations. So this is what the law said. Now I’m saying this to you is angry with his brother without a cause the brother takes on it wider application than just those who are fellow Christians here.

It applies to any of our fellow human beings, the King James version here as the clause without a cause it is not anger per se, that is wrong. It is anger that is driven by emotion rather than that, which we might call justifiable anger. One has noted that the personal element must be absent and the righteous indignation must be directed solely toward the evil itself or toward acts that dishonor God or injury to innocent persons.

We are angry as Christians at the sin, not the person committing the sin, but the sin itself, Rocca and fool. The first is probably an Aramaic word, meaning empty or empty headed and is a word used for contempt. The second word fool is the word use to express dullness or stupid rocket expresses contempt for a man’s head, basically like saying,

looking at someone and in all earnestness saying, you are a stupid fool. This is wrong for us to say to one another or to anybody in the world. Rocket was a step further than merely thinking murderous thoughts. It was expressing in words, murderous intentions. One has made this observation. Christ’s condemnation of the terms, rocket and full show us that are passing words,

States of feeling and not direct murder only are subject to the judgment of the eternal judge. Expression of unrighteous, anger, and speech without violent action is reproved an even stronger language than anger alone. Let’s skip some of this so we can get through all of it. Verse 23. Therefore if thou bring a gift to the alter and their remembrance that thy brother have ought against thee,

therefore the admonition that follows is directly related to what was proceeded. What we just read. That’s what this is talking about. Unjustified, anger and contempt toward a brother affects our worship and devotion to God. Every single time. The child of God cannot acceptably render worship to his God. If he is at odds with his brother upon approaching God at the alter,

one comes to realize that he harbors ill will toward his brother. He has to stop what he is doing and make things right with his brother before he attempts to worship God, verse 24, leave them. I gift before the altar and go thy way. First, be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer that gift lead there by gift.

And this situation reconciliation takes precedence over worship. For the simple reason that worship is rendered void. If we Harbor malice or hatred in the heart of particular emphasis is in these verses is the urgency that is implied in the instructions. First be reconciled. The verb is a second. Air is passive imperative and has the meaning get reconciled? Take the initiative. The verb denotes a mutual concession after mutual hostility and idea absent from a<inaudible>,

which is a Greek word for it. And it shows that no offering, which we can make to God is acceptable while we are conscious of an uncompensated wrong to a fellow man. And we can’t, you can’t rightfully worship God when you’re angry at your brother or anybody in the world. Okay? Agree with dine adversary quickly while thou art in the way with him less,

any time the adversary deliver the, to the judge and the judge deliver the, to the officer and thou can, that will be cast into prison. We are to make up with our enemies. The word, the officer here means an under rower. The same word is used to describe the galley slave or a common servant. It is applied to the ministers of the word as well.

And Luke chapter one in verse two, once again, the emphasis is placed on the need to agree quickly. If one will agree quickly, anger will not have time to take deeper roots in the heart. So you handle your problem with your brother, the anger that you have right away, don’t dwell on it, handle it right away with them. Barely I say unto you though,

shall be no mean thou shalt by no means come out thence till they’ll has paid the uttermost farthing. The illusion here is of course, to imprisonment for debt and such a case. The debtor was held until the debt was paid either by himself or some friend, if it were not paid at all, he remained in prison until he died in the case,

which this is made to represent the off offender would have let whatever, let pass on opportunity to make reparation. And no friend can make it for him. Therefore, the last farthing will never be paid and he must reprint remain a prisoner forever. It is intended to teach that men cannot pay their debts to God and therefore they had better obtain his forgiveness through faith.

During the days of grace, the Greek word translated farthing here is derived from the Latin quadrants, which equals the fourth part of a Roman as a simple copper or bronze coin, which had become common in Palestine. The farthing was worth about a fifth of our American scent. One fifth of our sinned verse 27. You have heard that it was said by them of old time,

thou shalt not commit adultery. It has been said in Exodus chapter 20 in verse 14 and Deuteronomy chapter five, verse 18, this is a commandment do not commit adultery. Thou shall not commit adultery verse 28. But I say unto you that whom whosoever look upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her in his heart here. As in reference to murder Jesus legislates against the thought,

which lie eyes back behind the act. He cuts off sin at its lowest root. The essence of all vice is intention. Those who indulge in unchaste imaginations, desires and intentions are guilty before God Jesus is cutting it off. Don’t even think about it. Get it out of your mind. If you find yourself starting to think about it, turn away,

don’t look at it anymore. Whatever, whatever is tempting. In this case, he’s talking about adultery with a woman and if they write IFN the pluck it out and cast it from the Ford is profitable for the, that one of thy members should perish. And not that they whole body should be cast into hell verse 29. These words indicate decision and determination and suggest the conduct of a surgeon who to protect the rest of the body.

Unflinching unflinchingly, severs, the gangrene member. So to protect the whole body back in like the civil war times, if the leg got shot, to make sure that the whole body didn’t get infected, they would just cut the ball. That part of the leg fell off completely gone. And that’s what Jesus is talking about. That I ride I the Hebrews,

like others were accustomed to represent the affections of the mind by the members or parts of the body. Thus the bowels denoted, compassion, the heart affection, or feeling the rains, understanding secret purpose and evil. I do notes sometimes envy Matthew, 20 verse 15, and sometimes an evil passion or just sin in general, the right eye and hand are mentioned because they are of most used to us and denote that however strong the passion may be or difficult to part with you.

Not that we should do it, no matter how hard it is, just let it go. Verse 30. And if I right-hand offend the, cut it off and cast it from the four, it is profitable for thee that one of my members should perish and not the thigh. Whole bodies should be cast into hell. Let’s see. We only have a few minutes left.

So yeah, No. When you were talking about, especially that younger age, you don’t really think like that all the time. I mean all that much about it. I would just say that nine times out of 10 in any of those circumstances that have happened, neither party set out with all the intention to do that. They were at the wrong place at the wrong time.

They were spending time together when they shouldn’t have been, you know, it’s like it led up And as Christians, we’re just not supposed to put ourselves in those situations. Yeah. Any situation that can get you in that situation, you just stay away from it. And that as Christians, that’s exactly what we’re supposed to do exactly as Christians. That’s exactly what we’re supposed to do.

Just stay away from it. Just if you think that there could be a problem with it just don’t do it, period. Don’t go there. Don’t be in that situation. Because most situations we are in, we put ourselves in, it’s not sometimes situations fall on your lap and you just have to take it as it comes. But for the most part,

it’s situations that you’re in you, you are putting yourself in that situation and you have a way to get out of it. God tells you in his word that you have a way to get out of any situation you’re in. No temptation is too strong for us to, to go against. I mean, an alcoholic has no reason to go and sit at a bar and order a glass just don’t you know,

Exactly. And a man who has a problem with looking at other women should not go to a public pool and just stare at all the women or a woman who has a problem with, you know, sexual annotations toward a man. Shouldn’t go watch a bunch of men work out at the gym. They’re going to create a problem for themselves. So you have to know yourself and you have to remember in any situation that you’re a Christian and not put yourself in that situation,

cutting it off at the root. So you’re not even making yourself think about that. You know, I can do this. I’m going to be okay. Like you said, the drunk at the bar, Oh, I’m just going to drink water. Next thing you know, he’s getting a cab home because he he’s drunk. And next thing you know,

the adulterer is committing adultery. All right, let’s just read through the rest of the verses. Since we only have a few minutes left verse 31, it has been said, whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement verse 32. But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife saving for the cause of fornication caused the third to commit adultery.

And your so ever shall marry her. That is divorced if the adult tree, and that is not something I want to get into tonight. Again, you have heard that it has been said by them of old time now, shall not for swear thyself, but shall perform unto the Lord dine owes. But I say unto you swear, not at all.

Neither by heaven for it is God’s throne nor by the earth for it is his footstool. Neither by Jerusalem for it is the city of the great King. Neither shall thou swear by thy head because Dow can not make one hair white or black molecular communication be ye Naynay for whatsoever is more than this. These cometh of evil. You have heard that it has been said an eye for an eye and a tooth for tooth.

But I say unto you that you resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite the on my right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will Sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have the cloak off. So the, this second case is of the judicial judicial and injustice and teaches at the most normal annoying exactions are to be injured without revenge,

no matter what somebody does to us, we do not go get our revenge for it. And whosoever shall compel them to go a mile, go with Twain. There’s a lot of information I’m skipping. And I apologize. Verse 42, give to him that, ask it the, and from him that would borrow of thee turn, not thou away. You have heard that.

It has been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate nine enemy. But I say unto, you love your enemies. Bless them. That curse. You do good to them. That hate you and pray for them, which despitefully use you and persecute you, that she may be the children of your father, which is in heaven for he make it this son to rise on the evil and on the good and send it rain on the,

just, and on the unjust. It doesn’t matter if you’re evil or good. God still gives you the sun. And he still gives you the rain for if you love them, which love you, what reward have ye do, not even the publicans the same. And the people he’s seen this too, did not like the publicans because they were the ones that were taking the taxes from them.

And so he’s saying, just going around and saying, I love you. It’s the same thing as the publicans do. Hey, I love you. Give me your money. Okay. We’re no better than them just seeing it. We have to show it. And if he salute your brother and only what do you, what do you more than others do?

Not even the publicans. So be ye therefore perfect. Even as your father, which is in heaven is perfect. God is our model. Everything short of that is short of what we ought to be. God can not be satisfied with that, which is imperfect. The requirement keeps us in mind of our infirmities and keeps us at work like Paul. We must be ever striving Philemon three or Philippians three 12.

Our standard is not the perfection of, of great and heroic men, but of the infinite creator himself. All right. So let’s go through the questions quickly. The sermon on the mountain, beatitudes. Number one. Where was Jesus when he spoke to the beatitudes? Matthew five one on mountain. Yep. What should be the results of letting your light shine?

Okay. Yes. The main thing we’re going for is the glorification of the father in heaven. Jesus came to abolish or be fulfill the law of Moses fulfill. Yes. What did Jesus say? The law of Moses said about adultery not to commit it exactly. What did Jesus himself say? Concerning adultery Don’t yet don’t even put yourself in the situation. Like I was saying the whole,

the whole verse 28 is the answer to that question. What did Jesus say? The law of Moses said about divorce. Yeah. Give him a writing of divorcement verse. Oh, what did Jesus himself say? Concerning divorce? Verse 32 is the answer to everything. Basically put her away for another. If you put her away for another reason, you’re causing her to commit adultery.

If you get remarried after you put her away, you’re committing adultery. It basically you’re just causing adultery. If you put your, your spouse away for any other reason than adultery, what did Jesus say a person should do if his right eye or right-hand makes him stumble. Yep. Cut off the hand. Pluck out the eye to whom did Jesus say that the father sent the sunshine and the rain?

Exactly. Everyone basically. All right. We’ll stop there and continue on<inaudible><inaudible> Thank you. It’s time to go ahead and begin our devotional period of time. We do want to mention those that are continuing to have help, right? Bye. Joan. I was talking to Marie and Joan is doing about the same or continue to remember her and our prayers.

And also continue to remember that Wilson’s North and Rodale might be checking up on them. And as well as some other widows, we need to be checking on them pretty often. Make sure everything is going all right with them. As Michael said, Jessica had her procedures done today and she’s going to be waiting for the results of those tests. So as soon as we have those,

we’ll share those with you. Hope she continues to improve. And also remember Keith Cozort that’s Aaron’s dad had had having had the two stints put in, keep praying for him. Also remember Aaron and aid and the boys will be coming home. I think they’re planning to come back tomorrow. I believe so. Keep them in your prayers. Right? They’ll have a safe trip back home.

Now, Jen, his dad miss. Remember him. He’s at home now and their hospice care. And Terry just told me that Jan took a fall while they were down there. And I didn’t know that. And so hope. I hope that she’ll recover from that, but, but keep her in your prayers then Natalie temple that’s Diana O’Neil’s nephew’s wife found that or her cancer was back.

So keep them in your prayers. And then also her aunt Jane Sconiers is back in the hospital with pneumonia and congestive heart failure. I believe that’s all the announcements that I had. We certainly hope everyone has a good first. We will be back Sunday and we’ll, I guess we’ll see if everyone survive the new year’s weekend, but we need to pray for those that are out traveling.

And those that perhaps are sick that we just don’t know about. So we do add a lot of people out tonight. It’s the weather is pretty bad. And so we need to just think, maybe give them a call and let them know we’re missing them. It’s good to see Ava back. We missed her Sunday. Good to see you back. Ava.

I think that’s out at any other announcements that you might have that I need to mention. If not a Marie is going to lead us in our song service, Michael will offer the invitation and then Eric we’ll have our closing prayer.<inaudible><inaudible> You went to open your Bibles and we’ll read John chapter one verses one through 14. John chapter one verses one through 14 word was with God.

And the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made and him was life. And the life was the light of men and the lights shine within darkness and the darkness comprehended. It not. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe he was not that light,

but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light, which lighted every man that cometh into the world, he was in the world and the world was made by him and the world knew him not. He came unto his own and his own received him not, but as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God.

Even to them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth word here in this text is logos,

a Greek word, which is expressed, which is an expressed idea. It is the first stage Things he has made, manifesting his divine power. And the fact that he is God Romans one 22nd. He shows himself in mighty deeds, just joined by flood the world he has created when he saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. Genesis six,

five. Also with his mighty hand, delivering a nation, he has chosen as his own from slavery in Egypt, Deuteronomy seven in verse eight. Then however, he gathered his people at Mount Sinai and reveals his love as well for them and his plan for their future and words, Exodus 20 in verse one, he ordains a succession of prophets of whom he says,

I will raise up from them prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak to them. All that I command him Deuteronomy 18, 18. We know God through his word, which he has now revealed to his Holy apostles and prophets by the spirit Ephesians three, five. However we know him supremely through the word,

his unique son who has glory, grace and truth. As stated in verse 14 of first of John chapter one tonight, I charge you to go up to a single person this week, just one person and try to reveal the glory of God, of God’s son and his word. Just try without the word of revelation. No one can be saved. So teach it Matthew 28,

19 and 20, they miss here. Romans 10, 17, believe John eight 24, repent acts 1730 confess Matthew 10 32 and be baptized acts 2216. And then they need to understand that they need to follow the word and walk in the light as he is in the light to have fellowship with him and with us first, John one, six and seven in revelation two 10.

So they can enjoy their crown of righteousness and heaven with, with him and with us. So if you have any needs for prayers of the church, please come forward. As we stand and sing. Thank you.<inaudible><inaudible> God, our father in heaven. We come to it this time, thanking you for another opportunity to assemble here this evening, to study your word in our Bible study,

and then have the opportunity to sing some songs, appraised your name and study another portion of your word through Michael’s invitation that was given Lord. We know there are many amongst us that are, have various illnesses and ailments. And we ask that you wrap your loving arms, your comforting arms around them individuals to give them comfort. Those that are in pain.

And if it be your will help the caregivers and the providers to nurse them back to health, that these individuals so desire so that they may one day assemble here again and worship your great name. We also know that there are many amongst us that are out traveling or possibly we’ll be traveling. And if we are, and for those that are traveling, please give them safe guidance to their destination.

And Lord, we know that we each have our opportunities and our faults. And when we bring these opportunities and false to you, we ask that you give us guidance on how to overcome them and forgive us if we do sin and provide us with that inspiration to go on and do things better and be better servants of yours out here in this world that we live in.

Now, as we prepare to part here, we ask that you guide guide, guard and direct in each and every one of us until we meet again, we pray all these things through your son, Jesus name. Amen.

12-27-2020 Sneaky Apostles (M. Dale)

In Live Streams, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

Well, everybody knows Aaron’s not here. We’re going to be doing a, a review of the first year of Jesus’s life, trying to make it through as many of these questions as possible Way. We’ll get this good review going. Let’s begin this morning with the prayer, our Lord in heaven. We thank you for this opportunity. We have to come here and study your word.

And we ask that we glean as much information as possible and soak it up like sponges and be able to use it to further your work and your, and your kingdom. We ask that you be with all of those that are gone now, traveling for the holidays up them to have a safe trip and journey home. And we ask that you be with all of those on our prayer list that are sick and ailing,

and you’d be with them and bring them back to their full health. If it be your will. And thank you again for your son who died on the cross and your son’s name. Amen. All right. So he told me, read the scripture, then read the question and let you guys answer. So that’s how we’re going to do it. Matthew chapter one,

verse two, Abraham, Isaac, and Isaac begat, Jacob and Jacob begat Judah and his brothers, Which was the son of Methuselah, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of<inaudible>, which was the son of Canaan, which was the son of<inaudible>, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam,

which was the son of God. So who was the, what was the first man? And Luke three 37 through 38 mentioned in Jesus’s genealogy. I think, I think that he’s looking for Adam. Yeah, because Adam is the first man mentioned and the genealogy here. So I don’t know why we read 37, 38. It starts from the, from the beginning or from the end and goes all the way to the beginning and Luke.

So, alright, Matthew, one 16 is where I’m going to next. Matthew, one 16 and Jacob, we got Joseph, the husband of Mary of whom was born. Jesus, who is called Christ, named the father and mother of Jesus. Mary and Joseph. Yes. And then Luke three 23. Yeah. Jesus himself began to be about 30 years of age being,

as we’re supposed the son of Joseph, which was the son of heli. How old was Jesus when he began his earthly ministry? 30. Yes. Correct. All right, Matthew, one six is where I’m going next. Matthew one six And Jesse begat David, the King and David, the King begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah was named the second King of Israel who was in the genealogy of Jesus.<inaudible> David.

David was the second King of Israel. First one was Saul. So I think it’s kind of a tricky question, but it’s David, David was the second King who was in the genealogy of Christ. David or David was Saul was not in the genealogy of Christ, but he was the first King. I don’t know. It’s confusing. It’s either David or Solomon the answer.

All right, it’s a Matthew. One, two is next. Oh, we read this one already. Abraham, Isaac and Isaac. We got Jacob and Jacob, you got Judah and his brethren. And then Luke three 34, Luke three 34, which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham,

which was the son of Thora, which was the son of nature. So name the man of great faith through whom God built the Jewish nation. Abraham. Yes. Why are some of John 20, 30 through 31, John chapter, 20, 30 and 31 and many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.

But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name. So why are, why are some of the events of Jesus’s early earthly life written? And we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing we might have life through his name.

You turn a life, basically. We’re just quoting verse 31 for the answer. What was the profession of Matthew and Luke? What was, does anybody know profession of Matthew tax collector and Luke physician? And what nationality was each man? Yeah. Matthew was a Galilean and Luke was a Grecian. He was from, he was from Greek or he was Greek from Greece.

All right, Luke, one five. There was in the days of Herod the King of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias of the chorus of a Baya. And his wife was the daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth. So who was King of Judea? Yeah. Who was King of Judea? When John the Baptist and Jesus were conceived. Yes,

Luke one, five. And Luke, we just read Luke one five. So I’m not going to read it again. And then Luke one 27 to a Virgin and spouse to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David and the Virgin Virgin’s name was Mary. So name the father and mother of John. The Baptist. Yes. Zacharias and Elizabeth.

Elizabeth and Zacharias were let’s turn to Luke one seven. I have 17 pages of these questions to go through. So I’m going to try to go a little bit fast. And they had no child because that Elizabeth was barren and they both were now well stricken in years. So it was Zachariah and Elizabeth were young middle-aged or old when their only child John was born old.

Yes. Old, see Luke one nine, according to the customer of the priest office, his lot was to burn incense. When he went into the temple of the Lord, where was that? Kariah when the angel Gabriel told him he would have a son was in the temple of the Lord. And then Luke one 26. And in the six month,

the angel Gabriel Was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth. So where was, where was Mary at this time? Nazareth. Yes. And Luke one 17. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias to turn the hearts of the fathers, to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the, just to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

According to the angel, speaking to Zechariah, what would be John’s work to prepare a way for the Lord. Yes, correct. And Jesus Luke one 33, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom. There shall be no end. So what was the purpose of Jesus? According to the angels, speaking to Zechariah, what would be John’s work of Jesus anyway,

Jesus, he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom. There shall be no in it. It’s, it’s basically just quoting the, the scripture there. All right. Luke, one 20 and behold thou shall be done and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed because I’ll believe it’s not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

So why was decoration made mute? Yeah, because he, because he did not believe that the angel Gabriel’s words, that’s why, how many months pregnant was Elizabeth when Mary conceived the son of God, Luke one 35 and 36, six months. Yes. Correct. All right, Luke one 41. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary,

the babe leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy ghost. So what happened when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary? Yep. And she was filled with the Holy ghost and described Mary’s reply, Luke four, one 46 through 55. And Mary said, my soul does magnify the Lord. And my spirit has rejoiced in God. My savior for he hath regarded the lowest state of his handmaiden for behold,

from henceforth. All generations shall call me blessed for he, that is mighty has done to me. Great things. And Holy is his name. And his mercy is on them. That fear him from generation to generation, excuse me. He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their seats and exalted them of low degree.

He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich, he has sent empty away. He has hoping his servant Israel and remembrance of his mercy. And as he speak to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever. So how would you describe Mary’s response? Yeah. Yeah. She was a humble servant of God. Praising his awesomeness basically is what I put.

All right, Luke, one 56 and Mary abode with her about three months and returned to her house. So how long did Mary stay with Elizabeth? Three months. I feel like I’m just answering the question and then asking you to repeat it to me. On what day was Elizabeth and Zechariah to name their son, Luke one 59 on the eighth day?

Correct. And it came to pass that on the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and called them Zacharias. All right, Luke one 63 and 64. And he asked for a writing table and wrote, seeing his name is John. And they marveled all and his mouth was open immediately and his tongue loose and he speak and praise God. So Zachariah prophesied that his son would give people knowledge.

Oh, sorry. Wrong question. When could Zachariah speak? Yeah. When his son was named John, as soon as he got the name, he was able to speak again. All right, Luke, one 77 To give knowledge of salvation on do as people buy the remission of their sins, Zechariah prophesied that his son would give the people knowledge of what salvation.

Correct. All right, Luke one 80 and the child grew and waxed strong in spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto Israel. So as he grew older, where did John live until the time for him to appear publicly, Excuse me. In the desert and the desert wilderness who wrote each of the four gospels. That’s an easy question.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I went over all these questions last night and barely had to look any of them up as I’m. Now the answer is all right, Matthew, one 20. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream saying Joseph thou, son of David. If you’re not to take unto thee,

Mary thy wife for that, which is conceived in her is of the Holy ghost. Why did Joseph take Mary for his wife? Even though she was already pregnant? Yeah, he was reassured by the angel that it was okay. That she was still a meeting. She was still untouched Matthew one 21. And she shall bring forth a son and shall call his name.

Jesus for, he shall save his people from their sins. So what, and why did the angel instruct Joseph to name the son to be born to Mary? Is the answer Jesus, but why? That’s correct. All right. Matthew one 22 and 23. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying behold,

a Virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name. Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. The old Testament, prophets, prophet, Isaiah at Virgin said a Virgin would have a child whose name would be Emmanuel. Yes. Which means God with us. Yes. All right. Luke, two, four,

and Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and lineage of David. So why did Joseph and Mary have to leave their home to go to Bethlehem in Judea when Jesus was born?<inaudible> Yeah. Yeah, but also because he was of the house and lineage of David.

Yeah. All right, Luke two seven. And she brought forth her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the end. So where did Jesus Mary lay Jesus after he was born in Bethlehem, in a manger, Tim through 12 Luke, two, 10 through 12. And the angel said unto them fear,

not for behold. I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. What news did the angel give the shepherds outside Bethlehem<inaudible> That the savior was born and how to find him all right,

Luke, two 17 through and 20. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the scene, which was told them concerning this child and the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them, after hearing the news and seeing the baby Jesus, what did the shepherds do?<inaudible> And when they had seen it,

they made known abroad to seeing which was told them concerning this child. So they went out, letting everybody know about what they had heard about Jesus, and they also glorify it and praise God in verse 20 and the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen. Okay. So I’m going to just read now the, all the verses that go with it from each book,

and then we’ll just go through and answer the questions. Instead of me reading each verse for each question, I’m going to be reading Luke chapter two 21 through 38, Luke two 21 through 38. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

And when the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord, every male that opened it, the womb shall be called Holy to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice. According to that, which has said in the law of the Lord,

a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons and behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simon or Simeon, sorry. And the same man was just end of out waiting for the constellation of Israel. And the Holy ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord,

the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child, Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, then took he him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now let us now thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word through 38, okay. For mine eyes,

I’ve seen nice salvation, which thou has prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people, Israel and Joseph, and his mother marveled at all at those things, which were spoken of him and Simeon blessed them and said unto Mary, his mother, behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be spoken against yay.

A sword shall Pierce through that and own soul. Also that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of funnel, and of the TRIBE of Asur. She was of a great age and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity. And she was a widow of about four score in four years,

which departed, not from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayers night and day. And she came and she coming in that instant gave them things likewise unto the Lord and speak of him to all of them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. And then we’ll read Matthew chapter two verses one through 12 Matthew chapter two verses one through 12. Now Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea.

In the days of Herod the King behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem saying, where is he? That is born King of the Jews for, we have seen his star in the East and are come to worship him. When Herod the King had heard these things. He was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together,

he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him in Bethlehem of Judea for thus, it is written by the prophet and thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah are not the least among the princes of Judah for out of these shall come. A governor that shall rule my people. Israel then inherit when he had privily called the wise men,

inquired of them diligently, what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search. Deluging diligently for the young child. And when you have found him, bring me word again, that I might come and worship him. Also, when they had heard the King, they departed and lo the star, which they saw in the East went before them,

till it came and stood over where the young child was when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold, and frankincense and myrrh,

and being warned of God in a dream. They, that should not return to Herod. They departed into their own country another way. All right. So how old was Jesus when he was named Eight days old? Same as John. Yup. After Mary’s time of purification, where did Joseph and Mary take Jesus to present him to the Lord and temple in Jerusalem?

Yes. Describe Simeon’s spiritual condition. The Holy spirit had promised Simeon that what events would occur before his death. Yeah. He would see the savior of the Lord, the Christ of the Lord. It was adjust and development. And the goalie, the Holy ghost was upon him. That’s the description of his spiritual condition. What did the aged Ana do at the temple?

Yeah, she fasted and prayed day and night. All right. What news of the Wiseman troubled Herod? Yeah, the King of the Jews was born. And how did the Wiseman know where to find Jesus star in the East? What three gifts did the Wiseman bring? Jesus? Well, the frankincense and myrrh. And just because there were three gifts doesn’t mean there were only three wisemen.

There could have been multiple Wiseman. All right. Let’s do Matthew chapter two verses 13 through 23, Matthew two 13 through 23. I asked him if I could have all of y’all read stuff too. And he said they can’t hear that online. So I have to read everything. I’m sorry, 13 through 23, Matthew chapter two. And when they were departed behold,

the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream saying arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt and be thou there until I bring the word for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose. He took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt and was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled,

which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying out of Egypt, have I called my son inherited when he saw that he was mocked of the Wiseman was exceeding wroth and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof from two years old and under one, a monster man, according to that, the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men then was fulfilled that,

which was spoken by Jeremiah, the prophet saying, and ramen was there a voice heard lamination and weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted because they are not. But when Herod was dead behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt saying arise and take the young child and his mother and go into the land of Israel for they are dead,

which sought the young child’s life. And he arose and took the young child in his mother and came into the land of Israel. But when he had heard that arch Elias did reign in Judea and the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go further. Notwithstanding being warned of God in a dream. He turned aside to the parts of Galilee and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth that it might be fulfilled,

which was spoken by the prophets. He shall be called a Nazarene. And then Luke two 39 through 52, Luke chapter two 39 through 52. Cool. And when they had performed all things, according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their own city Nazareth. And the child grew and wax strong in the spirit, filled with wisdom.

And the grace of God was upon him. Now, his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days as they returned the child, Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem and Joseph and his mother knew not of it,

but they supposing him to have been in the company, wins a day’s journey. And they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance and acquaintances. And when they had found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem seeking him. And it came to pass that after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions and all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.

And when they saw him, they were amazed and his mother said unto him, son, why has thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father. And I have sought the sorrowing. And he said unto them, how is it that she sought me whiskey? Not that I must be about my father’s business. And they understood not the same, which he speak unto them.

And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them. But his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. So after the Wiseman left, where did Joseph take? Mary and Jesus down to Egypt? Correct. Why? Because King Herod was seeking to destroy him.

The angel told them that what age children did Herod have killed in Bethlehem area? In the area of Bethlehem two and under, yeah. Why was Jesus called a Nazarene? Yeah, he lived in Nazareth and it was also prophesied that he would be called a Nazareen. How old was Jesus when he went with his parents to Jerusalem? For the feast of the Passover 12.

Yep. When lost on the Jerusalem trip, where did Jesus’s parents? 10 in the temple. Okay. Since Jesus was the son of God, when he was growing up, he a gave the orders in the family, B gave the orders in the family, but he was obedient to his parents or see, was busy with God’s business away from his family circle B.

Yeah. He gave the orders and listened to me, mom and dad. How did Jesus grow in wisdom and stature and favor with God and with man name, the writer of each of the new of each new Testament letter, the letters of the new Testament. Matthew didn’t write any letters, not. He wrote the gospel. So Paul wrote letters. James wrote letters.

Peter wrote letters, James, the son, or the brother of Jesus, not, not the other genes. John wrote letters. And then Jude, the brother of Jesus wrote a letter. Those are the ones that wrote the letters. They tricked us. They went from gospels, the letters on the next one. All right, let’s read Matthew three,

one through 17. And those days came John, the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea and seeing rip pinchy for the kingdom of heaven is at hand for this is he, that was spoken of by the prophet. Asiah saying the voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare you the way of the Lord make his path straight. And the same. John had his Raymond of camel’s hair and a leathern girdle about his loins and his meat was locusts and wild.

Honey then went out with him, Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around about Jordan and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, Oh, generation of Vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come bringing forth, therefore fruits meet for repentance.

And think not to say with yourselves within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father for IC and to you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the ax is lean on unto the roots of the trees. Therefor, every tree which brings not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance,

but he, that cometh after me is mightier than I whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. He shall baptize you with the Holy ghost and with fire, whose fan is in his hand. And he will thoroughly purchase floor and gather his wheat into the garner. But he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Then come with Jesus from Galilee to Jordan,

under John to be baptized of him. But John, for bad him saying, I have needed to be baptized of thee and comments down to me. And Jesus answering said unto him, suffer it to be. So now for thus, it become us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him and Jesus. When he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water and lo the heavens were opened unto him.

And he saw the spirit of God, descending like a dove and lighting upon him and lo a voice from heaven saying this is my beloved son in whom I am well-pleased. So what old Testament prophet told about the coming of John? The Baptist Isaiah? Yes. Assayas it says in the King James version, it’s the same person described John, the Baptist clothing and food.

Camel’s hair was his clothes with a leather girdle. And what did he eat? Locusts and wild honey. Yes. John the Baptist said his baptism was for what?<inaudible> Repentance. Yes. How lonely did John describe himself as compared to the coming Jesus? Yep. And he wasn’t even worthy to basically tie his shoes or on tie his shoes. What plays did John the Baptist baptized Jesus in Jordan?

Yes. How did the spirit appear at the baptism of Jesus? Like a dove. And what did the father say? Yeah. As a group, the new Testament books, Romans through Jude are called what? I like those trick questions. They just throw in. They want you to, Oh, by the way, this has nothing to do with the life of Christ.

But what are these group of books called? They’re the letters from Romans through Jude. Those are the letters of the new Testament, the epistles. All right. Matthew four, one through 11<inaudible> Excuse me. Then was Jesus led up of the spirit, into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights,

he was afterward and hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, if that will be the son of God command that these stones be made of bread, but he answered and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone. But by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God, then the devil tickets him up into a Holy city instead of him in a pin,

on a pinnacle of the temple and Steph unto him, if that will be the son of God, cast myself down for it is written. He shall give his angels charge concerning thee and in their hands. They shall bear thee up lest any at any time that dash thy foot against the stone, Jesus said unto him. It is written again. Thou shall not tempt the Lord,

thy God. Again, the devil take it them up into an exceeding high mountain and show with him, all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them and Seth unto him, all these things, will I give thee, if that will fall down and worship me then said, Jesus, unto him. Get the hint. Satan for it is written.

Now shall worship the Lord, thy God and him only shout they’ll serve. Then the devil leaveth him and behold angels came and ministered unto him. And then John chapter one 29 through 51, John one 29 through 51. The next day, John sees Jesus coming onto him and Seth behold, the lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.

This is he of whom I said after me come at the man, which is preferred before me for he was before me and I knew him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel. Therefore, am I coming baptizing with water and John bear record saying, I saw the spirit descending from heaven, like a dove and in a boat upon him.

And I knew him not, but th but he, that sent me to baptize with water, the same Seth unto upon whom thou shout, see the spirit, descending and remaining on him. The same as he, which baptizes with the Holy ghost. And I saw in bear record that this is the son of God. Again, the next day after John stood and two of his disciples and looking upon Jesus as he walked with,

he said, behold, the lamb of God, and two disciples heard him speak it, speak, and they follow Jesus. Then Jesus turned and saw them following and said unto them, what Sikhi. They said unto him rabbi, which is to say being interpreted master where dwellest thou. He said unto them come and see. They came and saw where he dwells in a bode with him that day for it was about the 10th hour.

One of the two, which heard John speaking and followed him was Andrew Simon Peter’s brother. He first find it his own brother, Simon and Seth unto him. We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus be held him, he said that weren’t Simon, the son of Jonah thou shall be called CFUs,

which is by interpretation a stone. The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee and find a Phillip and Seth unto him. Follow me. Now, Philip was of Bethsaida the city of Andrew and Peter, fill it, find it Nathaniel and said unto him. We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did right? Jesus of Nazareth,

the son of Joseph and Nathaniel said unto him, can there any good thing come out of Nazareth. Phillip said, unto him, come and see Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him and Seth of him, behold in Israel, EIT, indeed. And whom is no guile. Nathaniel said unto him, wince knowest thou me Jesus answered and said unto him. Before that Philip called the,

when that was under the fig tree, I saw the Nathaniel answered and said unto him, rabbi thou art, the son of God. Now aren’t the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, because I said unto thee, I saw the under the fig tree. Believe us though. Now shout see greater things than these. And he said unto him,

verily, verily. I say unto you hereafter, you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the son of man. All right. How long did Jesus fast? 40 days and 40 nights. How are you so quiet when you answer name? The three places the devil tempted Jesus First was in the wilderness. Yes. Second was Temptation.

You took him up to the highest pinnacle in Jerusalem on the temple. And then the third place was the highest known. You have very high mountain. All right. Describe each of the three temptations. The devil tried on Jesus. First. He asked him to lust of the, then He asked him to do what<inaudible> To jump down and the angels would save him the pride of life.

And then the last one was yes. Yes. The lust of the eyes bow down and worship me. And you can have all of this. All right. Jesus reacted to the devil’s temptations by eight, ignoring him, be doing what the devil asked or see quoting scriptures, quoting scriptures. Of course. What did Jesus tell the devil to do after the devil had tempted him?

Yeah. Yeah. Behind me get the hint Satan and a lot of other things. According to John, the Baptist, what takes away the sins of the world? Jesus, the lamb of God takes it will come to take it. The, the sins of the world. Name one, man who heard John the Baptist speak and then follow Jesus. I read that in John chapter one,

Andrew, Andrew was the follower of John the Baptist and he heard Jesus and decided to follow, follow Jesus. And then, excuse me, this man brought his brother to Jesus. Who was the brother? Simon. Peter? Yes. Who he called CFUs the stone to which disciple does Jesus say? Follow me John, one 43. It was Philip.

And he told Philip to follow him. And then which disciple does Jesus describe events of his sitting under a fig tree? Nathaniel? Yes. All right. Let’s see. How long has John chapter two? We only have a few minutes left. So I’m going to just go through these questions and see if you can answer them. And if not, I will give you the answer because we don’t have time to read everything.

Now we’re at the wire who went with Jesus to the wedding in Cana of Galilee, where he performed his first miracle. Yeah, his mother and his, his disciples that he had at the time described Jesus’s first miracle and the quality of the wine<inaudible> Change the water into wine. And what kind of wine was it? It was like fresh squeezed, grape juice,

fresh squeezed grape juice. What was the effect on Jesus’s disciples? Seeing him change the water to wine. Yeah. They believed on him. They believed that he was Jesus. When Jesus was to observe the Passover at the temple. Where did he find men selling animals and changing money and the temple? Yes. How did Jesus drive out those selling animals and changing money in the temple?

Yep. He made a whip out of some chords. He turned over the tables. He dumped out their money from their bowls. It was great. What did Jesus mean when he said destroy this temple? And in three days I will raise it up. Yeah. Kill my body in three days. I’ll be resurrected. It was prophesying. When did Jesus’ disciples recall this statement?

Perfect. Yeah, after he had risen, how many books are there and the new Testament? 27 books. 27 books. All right. Of what group of the Jews was Nicodemus? Do we remember? Yes. He was a Pharisee. Good. You guys are getting like on the spot questions that you can answer for? Bible Nicodemus came to talk with Jesus at the morning.

The noon time or night at night? Yes. How did Jesus tell Nicodemus to be born again? John three 33 through six. Yeah. He had to be born of water and the spirit he had to be born of the spirit is what he said. What did Jesus tell Nicodemus that a person must believe to have eternal life? Yeah. He had to believe that he was the only begotten son of God.

All right. What did John the Baptist say about his growing importance in relation to Jesus? No, I must decrease so he can increase basically. Why did John the Baptist Baptists criticized Herod? Yeah. That’s a different time. Actually. The first time it was just for all the evil he had done. He was just criticizing for all the evil he had done.

And how did Herod punished on the baptized Baptist for his criticism now? That’s later he threw him in prison. Yes. Correct. All right. So I’m guessing that everybody has all of these. He told me not to print them off cause everybody should have them already. I only missed a couple of lessons, so we’ll just see if he wants to continue on with that when he gets back,

because he already told me what I’m supposed to be doing on Wednesday. So We’ll take a break Just to see us today and we’re glad to have them here. And they do know Richard Bell. For those of you that remember Richard is they used to live here in worship with us and we, we really loved them and appreciated them, but we’re glad to have them with us.

And we have a few of our own number here, but we do, we are here worshiping God. And that’s what counts. We do want to remember those that are not able to be with us. Those are at home watching the live stream. We’re thinking about y’all and praying for you. And we hope that everyone is doing well. It’s been a trying time,

but we’re still doing what God wants us to do. And we’re trying to, trying to glorify him and trying to lead others to his word, to become children of his. So just keep that in mind and everything will be fine. Just keep eyes on the Lord and try to do his will. And, and we’ll be good. We do won’t to,

if he failed to pick up your communion, it’s in the back of the auditorium on those tables and now would be a good time to get that. If you did not pick it up on the way in, we would ask that our visitors, if you don’t mind, please fill out an attendance card so that we might have a record of you being here.

We certainly appreciate that. And we hope if you’re back this way, we want to invite you to come back and stop by and see us again. We do want to remember those that are ill or the congregation, Joan Springer is at home. I didn’t get a chance to speak to Marie, but she’s still having difficulties some good days, some bad days.

So keep her in your prayers, Robin woods. We won’t also remember her. And then Jessica Dale is still having problems with her stomach, stomach problems. And we hope and pray that she they’ll be able to determine exactly what’s going on with her and help relieve her of, of that. She’s been dealing with that for quite some time. Remember Dorothy and Rodale Wilson.

They’re still at home and Rodale has lost a, of his family members. And we want to remember them in our prayers and both of them were in a very bad health. So keep them in mind. Jane and Marlin is doing well after her knee replacement surgery. And we’re thankful for that. And Cheryl’s dad has a fractured spine and I guess he’s doing as well as possible.

He’s in a brace. And I wanna remember them. I know Cheryl has a difficult time from time to time and we want to pray that she does. Okay. And taking care of her mom and dad, Keith Cozort that’s Aaron’s dad had two stents put in and he’s doing fine. He’s at home. And I think progressing along well. So in that same note,

we want to remember Aaron and Eddie and the boys they’re up there visiting with family and not be able to be with us. And we want to pray that everything goes well for them. They will be coming back later on this week, I believe around Thursday. They’re supposed to be back in back home here. So keep them in your prayers. Amy Cox is dad.

Alvin Griffin is in rehab after having a stroke, Amy and Chad used to worship here and it’s her dad. And we certainly hope that everything will go well for him. They’re just, they’re waiting to see how that’s going to work out. Natalie temple, Diane O’Neill’s nephew’s wife found out her cancer has returned. So we want to remember Diana’s nephew’s wife and pray that she,

they can actually get hurt the treatment that she needs at this time to help her do better. And then Jane’s, Sconiers that’s Diana’s aunt is back in the hospital with pneumonia and congestive heart failure. And we’re certainly, we’re sorry to hear about that on to pray for all of these individuals, that they can regain their health and come back to some reasonable amount of life.

As far as health goes, our daily Bible reading plan, and this is listed in each bullet and every Sunday and beginning of the first of the year, it will be. And in chronological order. So if you might notice it’s different perhaps from the one we used to use, where we were just reading the scriptures from Genesis to revelation, this is going to be in chronological order.

So we encourage everybody to be sure and pick up a bullet and then try to keep up with our daily Bible readings. I believe that saw the announcements that I have. I’ll be directing the song service this morning, and I hope you bear with me. We had someone else plan for this and could not make it. And you know, my throat goes out on me pretty much and I,

I might have to get Murray. His does the same thing. So maybe between the both of us, if mine just plays completely out, I might have to call on Marie to come up and take care of the rest of it. So, but we’ll, we’ll do the best we can. Eric Halverson has our opening prayer. Michael Dale has our sermon today.

Tommy O’Neil will be taken care of the Lord’s supper. And then at the closing we have Terry Sanderson will be leading us in our closing prayer. So if you would now most of the songs except for the invitation and the closing him will be on their overhead. The rest of those two, we’ll have to use our books. We’ll begin this morning with have that own way.

Number 552 should be on the overhead. After this song, we will have our opening prayer.<inaudible> I am the clay<inaudible> Mo man<inaudible> man<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Searchie man, TRIBE me master today, a wider then snow wash me<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and then on way, Lord, have I known what? Hey, hold on my being absolutes<inaudible> damn with ice fam and<inaudible> Christ on the,

ah, when living in me, God, our father in heaven, we come to you at this time, thanking you for another glorious day here on earth, thanking you for the ability for us to be able to assemble here, to sing songs of praise, your great name and worship you here in this assembly. Lord, we know there are many amongst us that are unable to be here for various reasons.

And we ask that you reach your loving arms out to them and provide the comfort that they need, that they seek from you on a daily basis. And if it be your will help those that are administering to them to find the right solutions to make their health better so that they can return to their desired measure health. And most importantly returned to assemble here with us to worship you,

God, we also know that there are those amongst us that have lost loved ones. Recently, we asked that you comfort those in only the way that you can. And we also know that there are many amongst us traveling because of the holiday season. And we asked him if it’d be your will provide them safe journey to their destination and return to where they plan on going after the holidays are over.

Now God, as we prepare to hear another portion of your word, that Michael is about to bring to us, we ask that you help each and every one of us focus on the message that he brings from your word so that we may understand it fully and use it in our lives to help serve you better. Because we know that is what we are truly here for is to serve you.

And Lord, we ask that you give each and every one of us to strengthen the courage we need so that when we come across those that have either fallen away from your word, or unfortunately have not opened their heart to your word yet that we reach out to them and bring your message and your word to them so that they may have the same opportunity that we do.

And that is to live with you for eternity and heaven. One day, we want to thank you for your son, Jesus, because it was him that made all this possible. We pray all this through his name. Amen Before comedian, but he numbers 383, 383. He’s an escape man here. The cross<inaudible> stream flow is from<inaudible> and<inaudible><inaudible> damn I right?

Sure. So Shopify rest be a<inaudible> NAFTA, CRA trembling. So love and<inaudible> that’s Bri and Morningstar<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> my ride sharing. So Shopify rest me.<inaudible> Nat CRA. So I’ve got<inaudible> army up man from day to day with<inaudible><inaudible> and across<inaudible> damn my ride sharing. So Shafai rest being a<inaudible> H Lawrence Day. We have the privileged eight with this bread and drink of this cup to remember the death of our Lord and savior and the sacrifice that he made each one for each one of us,

would you probably with me, our heavenly father. We truly thank you for Christ. Our savior. We thank you for this bread to us represents his body. That was hung on a cross. We pray that if we partake of it, that each one of us would dwell on the horrible death across God for each one of us, these things we ask in his name,

amen, our heavenly father. We continue our thanks for this fruit of the vine, which to us represents the blood of her savior she had for our sins, as we partake of it, help each one of us to do so with humble and thankful to heart. These things we ask in Christ’s name, amen.<inaudible> with me, Our heavenly father.

We thank you for all of the blessings. If we unjoin this lie, we thank you for all of the material blessings that we enjoy in this country. We know that all we have to do is to look at the news to realize truly how blessed we are. We pray that as we prepared to return under the, a part of that, that we’ve been blessed with,

we would do so with a cheerful and thankful heart. These things we ask in Christ’s name, amen. You would be marking your books for number 903. That would be our song of encouragement. Number nine Oh three will be our song of encouragement.<inaudible> I will be singing number 609, six Oh nine. Okay.<inaudible> I am not a<inaudible><inaudible> this word<inaudible> for mass is strong.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> my worth.

And this name<inaudible><inaudible> up or it’s for me.<inaudible> And, and now Michael Morning, everybody. Okay. This morning, I’m going to be preaching on being aware of Satan sneaky apostles. Our main tax is going to be taken from second Corinthians chapter 11, verses 13 through 15, second Corinthians chapter 11, verses 13 through 15 for such are false apostles.

Deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ and no Marvel for Satan himself has transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing. If his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works, the children of the Lord must be aware of false teachers appearing to preach the gospel of Christ.

I’m sure most of us in here at one point in time in our lives have heard the story of little red riding hood and a sweet little girl skipping through the woods with her basket of goodies on her way to her grandma’s house. While the ever stocking Wolf lingers in the shadows, watching her, waiting for her to get to a point where he can devour her.

I remember it well because at one point in time, the Wolf ran ahead of her, went to her grandmother’s house, ate up the grandmother and then put her clothes on and laid in bed, waiting for red riding hood. When she came, he ate her up too, but false apostles, like the Wolf in the story are good at disguising themselves to make what they are seeing sound really appealing to us.

Every time we see a fossil parcel, we notice something, a false apostles are always dressed. Really nice, like the Wolf and grandma’s clothes, false apostles, say all the things you want to hear, the better to see you with my dear. The better to hear you with my dear says the Wolf false apostles never actually speak the whole truth. The better to eat you with.

And he gobbled her up false apostles are lovers of money. And that is really all they care about lining their pockets while they sit back and watch you fall into sin all the while thinking that you are safe. You’re okay. Do you remember how the story of little red riding hood ended? It ended with a hero. The lumberjack comes rushing in. He kills the Wolf,

cuts them open and pools, red riding hood and his grandma and her grandmother out of, out of his stomach to safety here. As we read in second Corinthians chapter 11, 13 through 15 Paul who predates the Wolf story by quite a while, comes through inspiration of God, our true savior to warn and save the Corinthian church from the false apostles workers of the real Wolf.

Satan, The moral of the story is the children of the Lord must be aware of false teachers appearing to be preachers of the gospel to help us understand who these false apostles are. Paul through inspiration gives us a description. We have a description of the false apostles themselves. We have a description of the false apostles master, and then we have a description of the false apostles end.

Let us first consider the description. Paul gives us of the false apostles themselves. You will know the false apostles by their work. They are deceitful workers. He says in verse 13 of second, Corinthians 11 for such are false apostles, deceitful workers. They will pervert the gospel turn with me to Galatians chapter one, verses six and seven Galatians chapter one verses six and seven.

The very next book, Marvel that’s ER, so soon removed from him. That called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another, but there’ll be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. These spots, apostles pervert the gospel of Christ. They will unsettle your soul acts chapter 15 and verse 24 acts 1524<inaudible> For as much as we have heard that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words,

subverting your souls, saying you must be circumcised and keep the law to whom we gave no such commandment. There’s the birding, our souls. They speak perverse things acts 20 and verse 30 acts chapter 20 and verse 30. Also have your own selves. Shall men arise? Speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them, they speak these perverse things. These false apostles do to draw you away from Christ and his true word.

They will speak a different gospel, a gospel let’s turn back to Galatians chapter one, Galatians chapter one, and we’ll read verses eight and nine Paul through the inspiration writes. But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that, which we have preached unto you. Let him be a cursed, as we said before. So say I now again,

if any man preach any other gospel unto you, then that you have received. Let him be a curse. Paul is warning us up front already back 2000 years ago, almost that there’s going to be false apostles coming into us and trying to teach us another gospel, something that’s not right. And there ought to be a cursed false apostles. Also transform themselves.

They will disguise themselves. Let’s go back to our original text. Second Corinthians chapter 11, and we’ll read verse 13 again. Second Corinthians 11 and verse 13.<inaudible> For such are false apostles. Deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. They, they make themselves look like they’re from Christ. They will disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness. Read verse 15,

just a couple of verses down. Therefore it is no great thing. If his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, they’re going to try to make themselves seem like they’re good. So you will follow them. Why most of the time, so they can line their pockets. They’re sneaky. These false apostles are sneaky. Turn with me to Galatians chapter two,

one book over chapter two and verse four relations to four. And that because of false brethren, unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our Liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage and to bondage under Satan. They’re sneaky. They come in sneakily and they want to draw you away from Christ because they are Savage wolves among sheep acts chapter 20 in verse 29.

Let’s read this description, acts chapter 20 and verse 29. Excuse me. I’m having some allergy problems for, I know this that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you not just wolves, grievous wolves, these wolves are hungering for you not sparing the flock. They’re not going to spare anyone. They will disguise themselves. Even as sheep. These wolves will be masters of disguise.

Matthew chapter seven, turn with me to Matthew chapter seven and verse 15. Jesus tells us beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing. But inwardly, they are ravening wolves. They may look like one of us, but inwardly, they are hungering to pull you way to, to Satan, to pull you away to sin. But how can we tell who these false apostles are?

You will know them by their fruit. Jesus says Matthew chapter seven, verses 16 through 20 let’s continue reading here in Matthew chapter seven, Jesus said says, you shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles even so every good tree brings forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bring it forth. Evil fruit, a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit.

Neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits. You shall know them. They are going to, they will never practice righteousness. These false apostles don’t practice righteousness at all. Turn with me to John chapter three, verses seven through ten first John chapter three verses seven through 10 John through inspiration writes little children.

Let no man deceive you. He that do with righteousness is righteous. Even as he is righteous. He, that committed sin is of the devil for the devil Senate. From the beginning for this purpose, the son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin for his seed remain within him.

And he cannot sin because he is born of God. And this the children of God are manifest. And the children of the devil whosoever does not. Righteousness is not of God, neither. He that loveth not his brother. To me. That’s one of the main things. If you can see someone is pulling away, they’re not really loving towards you and the,

and the worship service. That’s someone you need to look out for. There is no good. And these false apostles turn with me. Second, Peter chapter two, that’s one book up second, Peter chapter two verses 10 through 19, but chief Lee, them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise government presumptuous are they self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignities,

whereas angels, which are greater in power and might bring not accusations against them before the Lord. But these as natural brute beasts, he says, made to be taken and destroyed, speak of, speak evil of the things that they understand, not and shall utter utterly perish in their own corruption and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness. As they, that count it pleasure to riot in the daytime spots they are and blemishes supporting sporting themselves with their own receivings while they feast with you having eyes full of adultery.

And that cannot cease from sin. Beguiling unstable souls and heart. They have exercised with covetous practices, cursed children, what ha, which have forsaken the right way and are gone astray. Following the way of bailing. The son of Bowser who loved the wages of unrighteousness, but was rebuked for his iniquity. The dumb donkey speaking with man’s voice for bad,

the madness of the prophet. These are Wells without water, these false prophets Wells, without water clouds that are carried with a Tempest, they go wherever the wind blows them to whom the midst of darkness is reserved forever for when they speak great swelling, words of vanity. They allure through the lust of the flesh through much wantonness. Those that were clean,

escaped from them who live in error while they promise them Liberty. They themselves are the servants of corruption for whom a man is overcome of the scene. As he brought in bondage, they stand up here and they preach to you. A sermon of Liberty. Faith only once saved, always saved. And all the while you think you are saved, when really you are looking to destruction,

let us consider what an apostle is here and apostle in the Greek is Apostolos which according to theorists, Greek lexicon is one who is sent forth with orders to be an apostle, even a false apostle. They must have one who has sent them thus through Paul’s writing and the, to the church in Corinth. We have a description of the false apostles master the false apostles master clearly as Satan,

he has shown to be their master by Paul and second Corinthians chapter 11. Let’s go back to our original texts. Second Corinthians chapter 11 and verses 13 and 14, second Corinthians 11, 13 and 14 for such are false apostles. Deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ and no Marvel for Satan himself has transformed into an angel of light Satan himself.

Jesus said that Satan is these false apostles father turn with me to John chapter eight, the gospel of John chapter eight verses 44 through 46, Seven John eight 44, three 47. Jesus States Of these false teachers year of your father, the devil that and the loss of your father, you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode,

not in truth because there is not truth in him. When we, when he speak, if a lie, he speaks of his own for he is a liar and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, you believe me, not, which of you convinced me of sin. And I say the truth. Why do you not believe me?

He, that is of God. Heareth God’s words either. Ye therefore hear them not because he are not of God. These false apostles not only teach falsely because of Satan, their father, the father of lies. They, they completely shun righteousness. Then the right word, they practice sin. Thus they are of their father. The devil turned back with me to first John chapter three in verse eight first John chapter three and verse eight.

He, that committed sin is of the devil for the devil. Sinneth from the beginning for this purpose, the son of God was manifest that he might destroy the works of the devil. Satan is also crafty and disguise. This is where his apostles false apostles learn. He decides disguises himself as an angel of light, second Corinthians 13 or 11 and verse 14.

And no Marvel for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. He wants you to come to him. So he’s not going to appear as he is. He’s going to appear as a messenger of God as a, as a angel of light. He, as we all know, he also disguised himself as a serpent once upon a time. And Paul get reiterated this to the church at Corinth and verse three of chapter 11,

just a few verses up. If you look at verse three, but I fear less by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety. So your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ, Seton employees, deceit to lead the saved astray. He is a liar, John eight 44, the gospel of John chapter eight. Let’s read it again.

And verse 44, ye are of your father, the devil and the less of your father. You will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode, not in truth because there is no truth in him. When he speak at the Y, he speaks with of his own for, he is a liar and the father of it, the father of lies.

He lied from the very beginning of time. Let’s go to Genesis chapter three, all the way back to the beginning, Genesis chapter three, and read verses one through five Genesis Chapter three, one through five. Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the field, which the Lord God had made. And he said, the woman, yea, hath God said,

ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden. It starts off subtly. You shall not eat of every tree of the garden. Of course he knew God told them they could eat every tree of the garden. And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree,

which is in the midst of the garden. God has said, you shall not eat of it. Neither shall ye touch it. Lest he die. And the serpent said unto the woman, he changes one word and it turns the whole thing into a lie. You shall not surely die. He says for God death, not, no, God doesn’t know that in the day you eat thereof and he appeals to their vanity,

then your eyes shall be open. And he shall be as gods. He says, knowing good and evil. Satan is a tricky beast. He has deceived the whole world from the beginning. And to the end, let’s go all the way to revelation revelation, chapter 12 and verse nine, revelation 12 and verse nine. And the great dragon was cast out that old serpent called the devil and Satan,

which deceive it the whole world. He was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him. He deceives the whole world all the way from Genesis, all the way down to revelation. He never stops trying to deceive the world. He was sent. He has sent his workers throughout the entire world to, to, so his madness first,

John chapter four in verse one first John chapter four and verse one, John writes beloved believe not every time the spirit, but try the spirits. Whether they are of God, because as many false prophets are gone out into the world. Many, not one, not a hundred, not a thousand, but many are out there trying to bring us away from God because Satan is relentless.

He roams the earth looking to do evil. We read of this when he’s look into torture job and job chapter one in verse seven, job chapter one and verse seven. And the Lord said unto Satan come SL as if God didn’t know, right then Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down,

it he’s out there. He’s going to and fro on the earth. He’s walking up and down at everywhere. He possibly can to seek your soul because Satan is waiting to devour you. First, Peter chapter five in verse eight, we’re told through inspiration of the Holy spirit. Peter writes in first Peter chapter five and verse eight, be sober. We are to be sober,

be vigilant. We are to be village in because your adversary, the devil as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking. He may devour. He’s not just waiting for you to come. He’s out there seeking you, waiting to devour you. There’s a reason we are given these descriptions of the false apostles and their master Satan. This is so we can resist them.

First, Peter chapter five, verse nine, whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished and your brethren that are in the world, we must resist him. Now let us consider that. Paul gives us hope by giving us a description of the false apostles end, their end will be according to their words. Paul writes of this to the church at Corinth,

back in our original texts. Second Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 15, second Corinthians 11, 15. Therefore it is no great thing. If his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works, they will meet Swift destruction. Second, Peter chapter two in verse one second, Peter chapter two and verse one,

but there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privileged shall bring in damnable, heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves Swift destruction. Their destruction is going to be Swift as liars. They will be thrown into the Lake of fire revelation, chapter 21 and verse eight, revelation 21 and verse eight,

But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and I Dodgers and all liars, all false apostles are liars shall have their part in the Lake, which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Their end is utter destruction. We can read of this and Philippians chapter three and verse 19, Philippians chapter three and verse 19,

whose end is destruction whose God is their belly and whose glory is their shame who mind earthly things. These false apostles will need and utter destruction. And that’s why we need to watch out for them. So we don’t end up with the same destruction. God is going to judge the false apostles, just like he judges everyone. Jesus will tell them to depart in the end,

turn with me to Matthew chapter seven, again, Matthew chapter seven, and we’ll read verses 21 through 23. Yeah, Matthew seven 21 through 23. Not everyone that Seth unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. But he, that do it. The will of my father, which is in heaven, many will say to me in that day,

Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in their name? And in the name of cast out devils and in my name have done many wonderful works. I think of the, the people out there who lay their hands on people and try to give them the Holy spirit to them and things like that. They’ve done all of these mighty magnificent works in his name.

And then will I profess unto them? I never know. I knew you depart from me, ye that work iniquity, what a terrible feeling to be before Jesus and telling him all of these awesome works that you’ve done. And for him to say, I never knew you depart from me. They will be judged according to their deeds. Turn with me to Romans chapter two,

Romans chapter two, let’s all turn there. Romans chapter two. And we’ll read, this is a little bit of a lengthy reading, but I want to read it Matthew or Romans chapter two verses one through 16, therefore, or thou art inexcusable. Oh man. Whosoever thou art that judges for wearing now judges to another they’ll condemn us thyself for thou that judges does the same things,

but we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them, which commit such things and think is now this, Oh man, that judges them, which do such things and dust the same and now shall escape the judgment of God or despise the Sal, the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long suffering. Not knowing that the goodness of God lead a theory to repentance,

but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurer stuff onto the ice self wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteousness, judgment of God, righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man, according to his deeds, to them who by patient countenance and well-doing seek the glory and honor of immortality eternal life, but unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth,

but obey on righteousness, dig nation and wrath, tribulation, and angry wish upon every soul of man that do with evil of the Jew first and also of the Gentile, but glory honor and peace to every man that works with good to the Jew first and also the Gentile for there is no respecter of persons with God, for as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law.

And as many as I’ve sin in the law shall be judged by the law for not the heroes of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified for when the Gentiles, which have not the law do by nature. The things contained in the law. These having not the law are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts.

Their conscience also bearing witness and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. And the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus, according to my gospel, let us also consider second Peter chapter two in verses four through nine second, Peter chapter two verses four through nine, God spared, not the angels that sin, God didn’t even spare the angels that sinned.

He chased them down, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment and spared, not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemn them with an overthrow,

making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly. These are our examples. We are supposed to pay attention to our examples from God and deliver just lot vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked for that righteous man dwelling among them and seeing, and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day, what their unlawful deeds, the Lord Noah, how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.

The children of the Lord must be aware of false teachers appearing to be preachers of the gospel. Last we be led astray. We have our helps from Paul right here in second Corinthians, chapter 11. It’s like a wanted poster. We have the dis there description so we can see who they are. We know who their master is, thus, what they practice lying and deceit.

We know what their end will be and must work to stop them as children of God, let us be careful of the Wolf seeking to devour and expose them for who they truly are. Ephesians five 11. Always remember if God, before us, who can be against us, Romans eight 31 as followers of Christ, we are all messages of his word commissioned to teach every nation,

Matthew 28, 18 or 19 and 20, and every creature about this truth, Mark 16, 15, we must first get them to hear the gospel for through hearing comes faith. John Mark, excuse me, Mark. Hm, Romans 10 17. We must teach them to a point of belief in Jesus as the Christ, because we do not want them to be lost in their sin.

John eight 24, we must teach them to a point of repentance because God commands every man everywhere to repent acts 1730. And we must teach that if they want to be confessed by Christ before the father in heaven, they must confess Jesus as the Christ before men, Matthew 10 32, and that confession leads to salvation. Romans 10, nine, and 10.

We must teach the laws that they must be baptized acts 2216, and we must teach and understand ourselves that salvation does not come just because we followed the steps through baptism. We must live faithfully until death to receive our crown of righteousness and heaven. First, John one, six and seven in revelation, two 10. Unlike what you will hear from the false false apostles.

Every step is necessary for salvation. Believing is not enough. You cannot faith into heaven and you are not baptized and always saved. You must follow every step. And if you have yet to heat each step to gain salvation, the waters of baptism already for you. And if you find yourself wavering on the path of righteousness and need the prayers of the scenes for encouragement,

we are here for you because the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much James, five 16, whatever your need, please come forward. As we stand and sing, You be free from the bird and there’s fire in the blond word. You are already a victory when there’s one<inaudible>, there is<inaudible> wonder working and<inaudible><inaudible> would you do serve it’s shirking,

there’s fire in the blah.<inaudible> word. You live day is praises to saying there’s one there and the blah<inaudible> wonder working then<inaudible><inaudible> there is<inaudible> working in<inaudible>. I want to say to Michael, that was a good job he did today for those that this is your first time to be here. Michael is a student at the school of preaching and he has grown tremendously.

He’ll be graduating this year, this coming year, and he’s, he’s been improving all the time. And we’re thankful that he was able to be here today and preach in Erin’s absence. We haven’t preached for several times each month. So good to have our visitors here. I did fail to mention one thing. Jenny’s dad who suffered a stroke. He is at home under hospice care and just doing the best he can.

He has good days and bad days. I think keep him in your prayers as well. I just overlooked announcements for our visitors. We help if you’re continuing your travels, which I know some of you are understand, headed up to Ohio. We wish you well and have a safe trip. And if you’re through this area on the way back home, drop back in and see us again.

We’d love to have you. Our closing ham will be number 878. If I can get through it was saying the first and last versus 878, and we’ll be landing the closing prayer. And Terry will lead us in that prayer. There’s a line that is<inaudible>. And by Fang, when he can see in a fog for the father waits over the way to<inaudible>,

then I swing by and by. We shot me on that<inaudible> then the swing by and by. We shall be on that<inaudible> to our, about Jeff, a father, we went off<inaudible> for the<inaudible> job is<inaudible> then the swing by and by me shot me on that.<inaudible> then the swing by and by. We show me on that<inaudible> show.

So Let’s pray, father Lord in heaven. Again, we find you for this beautiful first day of the week and the opportunity we’ve had to come together as your children to sing songs of praise and to the, into worship day and studied that word. We pray that the things that we have learned here today will help us to strengthen our Christian life and to reach out to others more.

We pray that you’d be with those that are traveling, especially with Aaron and his family who are based in with his, with their family, bring them back safely. We pray that you would be with those that have been mentioned today that are sick and unable to be with us. We pray that you would comfort them and comfort to the families that are tending to them.

We pray that you would go with his Nan and keep us safe during this pandemic and keep us healthy so we can be here together. Christ’s name. We pray. Amen.<inaudible>.

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12-27-2020 – JESUS: Review of Jesus’ First Year of Ministry (Class) & Sneaky False Apostles (M Dale)

In Bible Classes Videos, Jesus, Live Streams, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

Well, everybody knows Aaron’s not here. We’re going to be doing a, a review of the first year of Jesus’s life, trying to make it through as many of these questions as possible Way. We’ll get this good review going. Let’s begin this morning with the prayer, our Lord in heaven. We thank you for this opportunity. We have to come here and study your word.

And we ask that we glean as much information as possible and soak it up like sponges and be able to use it to further your work and your, and your kingdom. We ask that you be with all of those that are gone now, traveling for the holidays up them to have a safe trip and journey home. And we ask that you be with all of those on our prayer list that are sick and ailing,

and you’d be with them and bring them back to their full health. If it be your will. And thank you again for your son who died on the cross and your son’s name. Amen. All right. So he told me, read the scripture, then read the question and let you guys answer. So that’s how we’re going to do it. Matthew chapter one,

verse two, Abraham, Isaac, and Isaac begat, Jacob and Jacob begat Judah and his brothers, Which was the son of Methuselah, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of<inaudible>, which was the son of Canaan, which was the son of<inaudible>, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam,

which was the son of God. So who was the, what was the first man? And Luke three 37 through 38 mentioned in Jesus’s genealogy. I think, I think that he’s looking for Adam. Yeah, because Adam is the first man mentioned and the genealogy here. So I don’t know why we read 37, 38. It starts from the, from the beginning or from the end and goes all the way to the beginning and Luke.

So, alright, Matthew, one 16 is where I’m going to next. Matthew, one 16 and Jacob, we got Joseph, the husband of Mary of whom was born. Jesus, who is called Christ, named the father and mother of Jesus. Mary and Joseph. Yes. And then Luke three 23. Yeah. Jesus himself began to be about 30 years of age being,

as we’re supposed the son of Joseph, which was the son of heli. How old was Jesus when he began his earthly ministry? 30. Yes. Correct. All right, Matthew, one six is where I’m going next. Matthew one six And Jesse begat David, the King and David, the King begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah was named the second King of Israel who was in the genealogy of Jesus.<inaudible> David.

David was the second King of Israel. First one was Saul. So I think it’s kind of a tricky question, but it’s David, David was the second King who was in the genealogy of Christ. David or David was Saul was not in the genealogy of Christ, but he was the first King. I don’t know. It’s confusing. It’s either David or Solomon the answer.

All right, it’s a Matthew. One, two is next. Oh, we read this one already. Abraham, Isaac and Isaac. We got Jacob and Jacob, you got Judah and his brethren. And then Luke three 34, Luke three 34, which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham,

which was the son of Thora, which was the son of nature. So name the man of great faith through whom God built the Jewish nation. Abraham. Yes. Why are some of John 20, 30 through 31, John chapter, 20, 30 and 31 and many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.

But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name. So why are, why are some of the events of Jesus’s early earthly life written? And we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing we might have life through his name.

You turn a life, basically. We’re just quoting verse 31 for the answer. What was the profession of Matthew and Luke? What was, does anybody know profession of Matthew tax collector and Luke physician? And what nationality was each man? Yeah. Matthew was a Galilean and Luke was a Grecian. He was from, he was from Greek or he was Greek from Greece.

All right, Luke, one five. There was in the days of Herod the King of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias of the chorus of a Baya. And his wife was the daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth. So who was King of Judea? Yeah. Who was King of Judea? When John the Baptist and Jesus were conceived. Yes,

Luke one, five. And Luke, we just read Luke one five. So I’m not going to read it again. And then Luke one 27 to a Virgin and spouse to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David and the Virgin Virgin’s name was Mary. So name the father and mother of John. The Baptist. Yes. Zacharias and Elizabeth.

Elizabeth and Zacharias were let’s turn to Luke one seven. I have 17 pages of these questions to go through. So I’m going to try to go a little bit fast. And they had no child because that Elizabeth was barren and they both were now well stricken in years. So it was Zachariah and Elizabeth were young middle-aged or old when their only child John was born old.

Yes. Old, see Luke one nine, according to the customer of the priest office, his lot was to burn incense. When he went into the temple of the Lord, where was that? Kariah when the angel Gabriel told him he would have a son was in the temple of the Lord. And then Luke one 26. And in the six month,

the angel Gabriel Was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth. So where was, where was Mary at this time? Nazareth. Yes. And Luke one 17. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias to turn the hearts of the fathers, to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the, just to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

According to the angel, speaking to Zechariah, what would be John’s work to prepare a way for the Lord. Yes, correct. And Jesus Luke one 33, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom. There shall be no end. So what was the purpose of Jesus? According to the angels, speaking to Zechariah, what would be John’s work of Jesus anyway,

Jesus, he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom. There shall be no in it. It’s, it’s basically just quoting the, the scripture there. All right. Luke, one 20 and behold thou shall be done and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed because I’ll believe it’s not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

So why was decoration made mute? Yeah, because he, because he did not believe that the angel Gabriel’s words, that’s why, how many months pregnant was Elizabeth when Mary conceived the son of God, Luke one 35 and 36, six months. Yes. Correct. All right, Luke one 41. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary,

the babe leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy ghost. So what happened when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary? Yep. And she was filled with the Holy ghost and described Mary’s reply, Luke four, one 46 through 55. And Mary said, my soul does magnify the Lord. And my spirit has rejoiced in God. My savior for he hath regarded the lowest state of his handmaiden for behold,

from henceforth. All generations shall call me blessed for he, that is mighty has done to me. Great things. And Holy is his name. And his mercy is on them. That fear him from generation to generation, excuse me. He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their seats and exalted them of low degree.

He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich, he has sent empty away. He has hoping his servant Israel and remembrance of his mercy. And as he speak to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever. So how would you describe Mary’s response? Yeah. Yeah. She was a humble servant of God. Praising his awesomeness basically is what I put.

All right, Luke, one 56 and Mary abode with her about three months and returned to her house. So how long did Mary stay with Elizabeth? Three months. I feel like I’m just answering the question and then asking you to repeat it to me. On what day was Elizabeth and Zechariah to name their son, Luke one 59 on the eighth day?

Correct. And it came to pass that on the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and called them Zacharias. All right, Luke one 63 and 64. And he asked for a writing table and wrote, seeing his name is John. And they marveled all and his mouth was open immediately and his tongue loose and he speak and praise God. So Zachariah prophesied that his son would give people knowledge.

Oh, sorry. Wrong question. When could Zachariah speak? Yeah. When his son was named John, as soon as he got the name, he was able to speak again. All right, Luke, one 77 To give knowledge of salvation on do as people buy the remission of their sins, Zechariah prophesied that his son would give the people knowledge of what salvation.

Correct. All right, Luke one 80 and the child grew and waxed strong in spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto Israel. So as he grew older, where did John live until the time for him to appear publicly, Excuse me. In the desert and the desert wilderness who wrote each of the four gospels. That’s an easy question.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I went over all these questions last night and barely had to look any of them up as I’m. Now the answer is all right, Matthew, one 20. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream saying Joseph thou, son of David. If you’re not to take unto thee,

Mary thy wife for that, which is conceived in her is of the Holy ghost. Why did Joseph take Mary for his wife? Even though she was already pregnant? Yeah, he was reassured by the angel that it was okay. That she was still a meeting. She was still untouched Matthew one 21. And she shall bring forth a son and shall call his name.

Jesus for, he shall save his people from their sins. So what, and why did the angel instruct Joseph to name the son to be born to Mary? Is the answer Jesus, but why? That’s correct. All right. Matthew one 22 and 23. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying behold,

a Virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name. Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. The old Testament, prophets, prophet, Isaiah at Virgin said a Virgin would have a child whose name would be Emmanuel. Yes. Which means God with us. Yes. All right. Luke, two, four,

and Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and lineage of David. So why did Joseph and Mary have to leave their home to go to Bethlehem in Judea when Jesus was born?<inaudible> Yeah. Yeah, but also because he was of the house and lineage of David.

Yeah. All right, Luke two seven. And she brought forth her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the end. So where did Jesus Mary lay Jesus after he was born in Bethlehem, in a manger, Tim through 12 Luke, two, 10 through 12. And the angel said unto them fear,

not for behold. I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. What news did the angel give the shepherds outside Bethlehem<inaudible> That the savior was born and how to find him all right,

Luke, two 17 through and 20. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the scene, which was told them concerning this child and the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them, after hearing the news and seeing the baby Jesus, what did the shepherds do?<inaudible> And when they had seen it,

they made known abroad to seeing which was told them concerning this child. So they went out, letting everybody know about what they had heard about Jesus, and they also glorify it and praise God in verse 20 and the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen. Okay. So I’m going to just read now the, all the verses that go with it from each book,

and then we’ll just go through and answer the questions. Instead of me reading each verse for each question, I’m going to be reading Luke chapter two 21 through 38, Luke two 21 through 38. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

And when the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord, every male that opened it, the womb shall be called Holy to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice. According to that, which has said in the law of the Lord,

a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons and behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simon or Simeon, sorry. And the same man was just end of out waiting for the constellation of Israel. And the Holy ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord,

the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child, Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, then took he him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now let us now thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word through 38, okay. For mine eyes,

I’ve seen nice salvation, which thou has prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people, Israel and Joseph, and his mother marveled at all at those things, which were spoken of him and Simeon blessed them and said unto Mary, his mother, behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be spoken against yay.

A sword shall Pierce through that and own soul. Also that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of funnel, and of the TRIBE of Asur. She was of a great age and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity. And she was a widow of about four score in four years,

which departed, not from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayers night and day. And she came and she coming in that instant gave them things likewise unto the Lord and speak of him to all of them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. And then we’ll read Matthew chapter two verses one through 12 Matthew chapter two verses one through 12. Now Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea.

In the days of Herod the King behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem saying, where is he? That is born King of the Jews for, we have seen his star in the East and are come to worship him. When Herod the King had heard these things. He was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together,

he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him in Bethlehem of Judea for thus, it is written by the prophet and thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah are not the least among the princes of Judah for out of these shall come. A governor that shall rule my people. Israel then inherit when he had privily called the wise men,

inquired of them diligently, what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search. Deluging diligently for the young child. And when you have found him, bring me word again, that I might come and worship him. Also, when they had heard the King, they departed and lo the star, which they saw in the East went before them,

till it came and stood over where the young child was when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold, and frankincense and myrrh,

and being warned of God in a dream. They, that should not return to Herod. They departed into their own country another way. All right. So how old was Jesus when he was named Eight days old? Same as John. Yup. After Mary’s time of purification, where did Joseph and Mary take Jesus to present him to the Lord and temple in Jerusalem?

Yes. Describe Simeon’s spiritual condition. The Holy spirit had promised Simeon that what events would occur before his death. Yeah. He would see the savior of the Lord, the Christ of the Lord. It was adjust and development. And the goalie, the Holy ghost was upon him. That’s the description of his spiritual condition. What did the aged Ana do at the temple?

Yeah, she fasted and prayed day and night. All right. What news of the Wiseman troubled Herod? Yeah, the King of the Jews was born. And how did the Wiseman know where to find Jesus star in the East? What three gifts did the Wiseman bring? Jesus? Well, the frankincense and myrrh. And just because there were three gifts doesn’t mean there were only three wisemen.

There could have been multiple Wiseman. All right. Let’s do Matthew chapter two verses 13 through 23, Matthew two 13 through 23. I asked him if I could have all of y’all read stuff too. And he said they can’t hear that online. So I have to read everything. I’m sorry, 13 through 23, Matthew chapter two. And when they were departed behold,

the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream saying arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt and be thou there until I bring the word for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose. He took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt and was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled,

which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying out of Egypt, have I called my son inherited when he saw that he was mocked of the Wiseman was exceeding wroth and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof from two years old and under one, a monster man, according to that, the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men then was fulfilled that,

which was spoken by Jeremiah, the prophet saying, and ramen was there a voice heard lamination and weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted because they are not. But when Herod was dead behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt saying arise and take the young child and his mother and go into the land of Israel for they are dead,

which sought the young child’s life. And he arose and took the young child in his mother and came into the land of Israel. But when he had heard that arch Elias did reign in Judea and the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go further. Notwithstanding being warned of God in a dream. He turned aside to the parts of Galilee and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth that it might be fulfilled,

which was spoken by the prophets. He shall be called a Nazarene. And then Luke two 39 through 52, Luke chapter two 39 through 52. Cool. And when they had performed all things, according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their own city Nazareth. And the child grew and wax strong in the spirit, filled with wisdom.

And the grace of God was upon him. Now, his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days as they returned the child, Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem and Joseph and his mother knew not of it,

but they supposing him to have been in the company, wins a day’s journey. And they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance and acquaintances. And when they had found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem seeking him. And it came to pass that after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions and all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.

And when they saw him, they were amazed and his mother said unto him, son, why has thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father. And I have sought the sorrowing. And he said unto them, how is it that she sought me whiskey? Not that I must be about my father’s business. And they understood not the same, which he speak unto them.

And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them. But his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. So after the Wiseman left, where did Joseph take? Mary and Jesus down to Egypt? Correct. Why? Because King Herod was seeking to destroy him.

The angel told them that what age children did Herod have killed in Bethlehem area? In the area of Bethlehem two and under, yeah. Why was Jesus called a Nazarene? Yeah, he lived in Nazareth and it was also prophesied that he would be called a Nazareen. How old was Jesus when he went with his parents to Jerusalem? For the feast of the Passover 12.

Yep. When lost on the Jerusalem trip, where did Jesus’s parents? 10 in the temple. Okay. Since Jesus was the son of God, when he was growing up, he a gave the orders in the family, B gave the orders in the family, but he was obedient to his parents or see, was busy with God’s business away from his family circle B.

Yeah. He gave the orders and listened to me, mom and dad. How did Jesus grow in wisdom and stature and favor with God and with man name, the writer of each of the new of each new Testament letter, the letters of the new Testament. Matthew didn’t write any letters, not. He wrote the gospel. So Paul wrote letters. James wrote letters.

Peter wrote letters, James, the son, or the brother of Jesus, not, not the other genes. John wrote letters. And then Jude, the brother of Jesus wrote a letter. Those are the ones that wrote the letters. They tricked us. They went from gospels, the letters on the next one. All right, let’s read Matthew three,

one through 17. And those days came John, the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea and seeing rip pinchy for the kingdom of heaven is at hand for this is he, that was spoken of by the prophet. Asiah saying the voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare you the way of the Lord make his path straight. And the same. John had his Raymond of camel’s hair and a leathern girdle about his loins and his meat was locusts and wild.

Honey then went out with him, Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around about Jordan and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, Oh, generation of Vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come bringing forth, therefore fruits meet for repentance.

And think not to say with yourselves within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father for IC and to you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the ax is lean on unto the roots of the trees. Therefor, every tree which brings not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance,

but he, that cometh after me is mightier than I whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. He shall baptize you with the Holy ghost and with fire, whose fan is in his hand. And he will thoroughly purchase floor and gather his wheat into the garner. But he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Then come with Jesus from Galilee to Jordan,

under John to be baptized of him. But John, for bad him saying, I have needed to be baptized of thee and comments down to me. And Jesus answering said unto him, suffer it to be. So now for thus, it become us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him and Jesus. When he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water and lo the heavens were opened unto him.

And he saw the spirit of God, descending like a dove and lighting upon him and lo a voice from heaven saying this is my beloved son in whom I am well-pleased. So what old Testament prophet told about the coming of John? The Baptist Isaiah? Yes. Assayas it says in the King James version, it’s the same person described John, the Baptist clothing and food.

Camel’s hair was his clothes with a leather girdle. And what did he eat? Locusts and wild honey. Yes. John the Baptist said his baptism was for what?<inaudible> Repentance. Yes. How lonely did John describe himself as compared to the coming Jesus? Yep. And he wasn’t even worthy to basically tie his shoes or on tie his shoes. What plays did John the Baptist baptized Jesus in Jordan?

Yes. How did the spirit appear at the baptism of Jesus? Like a dove. And what did the father say? Yeah. As a group, the new Testament books, Romans through Jude are called what? I like those trick questions. They just throw in. They want you to, Oh, by the way, this has nothing to do with the life of Christ.

But what are these group of books called? They’re the letters from Romans through Jude. Those are the letters of the new Testament, the epistles. All right. Matthew four, one through 11<inaudible> Excuse me. Then was Jesus led up of the spirit, into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights,

he was afterward and hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, if that will be the son of God command that these stones be made of bread, but he answered and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone. But by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God, then the devil tickets him up into a Holy city instead of him in a pin,

on a pinnacle of the temple and Steph unto him, if that will be the son of God, cast myself down for it is written. He shall give his angels charge concerning thee and in their hands. They shall bear thee up lest any at any time that dash thy foot against the stone, Jesus said unto him. It is written again. Thou shall not tempt the Lord,

thy God. Again, the devil take it them up into an exceeding high mountain and show with him, all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them and Seth unto him, all these things, will I give thee, if that will fall down and worship me then said, Jesus, unto him. Get the hint. Satan for it is written.

Now shall worship the Lord, thy God and him only shout they’ll serve. Then the devil leaveth him and behold angels came and ministered unto him. And then John chapter one 29 through 51, John one 29 through 51. The next day, John sees Jesus coming onto him and Seth behold, the lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.

This is he of whom I said after me come at the man, which is preferred before me for he was before me and I knew him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel. Therefore, am I coming baptizing with water and John bear record saying, I saw the spirit descending from heaven, like a dove and in a boat upon him.

And I knew him not, but th but he, that sent me to baptize with water, the same Seth unto upon whom thou shout, see the spirit, descending and remaining on him. The same as he, which baptizes with the Holy ghost. And I saw in bear record that this is the son of God. Again, the next day after John stood and two of his disciples and looking upon Jesus as he walked with,

he said, behold, the lamb of God, and two disciples heard him speak it, speak, and they follow Jesus. Then Jesus turned and saw them following and said unto them, what Sikhi. They said unto him rabbi, which is to say being interpreted master where dwellest thou. He said unto them come and see. They came and saw where he dwells in a bode with him that day for it was about the 10th hour.

One of the two, which heard John speaking and followed him was Andrew Simon Peter’s brother. He first find it his own brother, Simon and Seth unto him. We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus be held him, he said that weren’t Simon, the son of Jonah thou shall be called CFUs,

which is by interpretation a stone. The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee and find a Phillip and Seth unto him. Follow me. Now, Philip was of Bethsaida the city of Andrew and Peter, fill it, find it Nathaniel and said unto him. We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did right? Jesus of Nazareth,

the son of Joseph and Nathaniel said unto him, can there any good thing come out of Nazareth. Phillip said, unto him, come and see Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him and Seth of him, behold in Israel, EIT, indeed. And whom is no guile. Nathaniel said unto him, wince knowest thou me Jesus answered and said unto him. Before that Philip called the,

when that was under the fig tree, I saw the Nathaniel answered and said unto him, rabbi thou art, the son of God. Now aren’t the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, because I said unto thee, I saw the under the fig tree. Believe us though. Now shout see greater things than these. And he said unto him,

verily, verily. I say unto you hereafter, you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the son of man. All right. How long did Jesus fast? 40 days and 40 nights. How are you so quiet when you answer name? The three places the devil tempted Jesus First was in the wilderness. Yes. Second was Temptation.

You took him up to the highest pinnacle in Jerusalem on the temple. And then the third place was the highest known. You have very high mountain. All right. Describe each of the three temptations. The devil tried on Jesus. First. He asked him to lust of the, then He asked him to do what<inaudible> To jump down and the angels would save him the pride of life.

And then the last one was yes. Yes. The lust of the eyes bow down and worship me. And you can have all of this. All right. Jesus reacted to the devil’s temptations by eight, ignoring him, be doing what the devil asked or see quoting scriptures, quoting scriptures. Of course. What did Jesus tell the devil to do after the devil had tempted him?

Yeah. Yeah. Behind me get the hint Satan and a lot of other things. According to John, the Baptist, what takes away the sins of the world? Jesus, the lamb of God takes it will come to take it. The, the sins of the world. Name one, man who heard John the Baptist speak and then follow Jesus. I read that in John chapter one,

Andrew, Andrew was the follower of John the Baptist and he heard Jesus and decided to follow, follow Jesus. And then, excuse me, this man brought his brother to Jesus. Who was the brother? Simon. Peter? Yes. Who he called CFUs the stone to which disciple does Jesus say? Follow me John, one 43. It was Philip.

And he told Philip to follow him. And then which disciple does Jesus describe events of his sitting under a fig tree? Nathaniel? Yes. All right. Let’s see. How long has John chapter two? We only have a few minutes left. So I’m going to just go through these questions and see if you can answer them. And if not, I will give you the answer because we don’t have time to read everything.

Now we’re at the wire who went with Jesus to the wedding in Cana of Galilee, where he performed his first miracle. Yeah, his mother and his, his disciples that he had at the time described Jesus’s first miracle and the quality of the wine<inaudible> Change the water into wine. And what kind of wine was it? It was like fresh squeezed, grape juice,

fresh squeezed grape juice. What was the effect on Jesus’s disciples? Seeing him change the water to wine. Yeah. They believed on him. They believed that he was Jesus. When Jesus was to observe the Passover at the temple. Where did he find men selling animals and changing money and the temple? Yes. How did Jesus drive out those selling animals and changing money in the temple?

Yep. He made a whip out of some chords. He turned over the tables. He dumped out their money from their bowls. It was great. What did Jesus mean when he said destroy this temple? And in three days I will raise it up. Yeah. Kill my body in three days. I’ll be resurrected. It was prophesying. When did Jesus’ disciples recall this statement?

Perfect. Yeah, after he had risen, how many books are there and the new Testament? 27 books. 27 books. All right. Of what group of the Jews was Nicodemus? Do we remember? Yes. He was a Pharisee. Good. You guys are getting like on the spot questions that you can answer for? Bible Nicodemus came to talk with Jesus at the morning.

The noon time or night at night? Yes. How did Jesus tell Nicodemus to be born again? John three 33 through six. Yeah. He had to be born of water and the spirit he had to be born of the spirit is what he said. What did Jesus tell Nicodemus that a person must believe to have eternal life? Yeah. He had to believe that he was the only begotten son of God.

All right. What did John the Baptist say about his growing importance in relation to Jesus? No, I must decrease so he can increase basically. Why did John the Baptist Baptists criticized Herod? Yeah. That’s a different time. Actually. The first time it was just for all the evil he had done. He was just criticizing for all the evil he had done.

And how did Herod punished on the baptized Baptist for his criticism now? That’s later he threw him in prison. Yes. Correct. All right. So I’m guessing that everybody has all of these. He told me not to print them off cause everybody should have them already. I only missed a couple of lessons, so we’ll just see if he wants to continue on with that when he gets back,

because he already told me what I’m supposed to be doing on Wednesday. So We’ll take a break Just to see us today and we’re glad to have them here. And they do know Richard Bell. For those of you that remember Richard is they used to live here in worship with us and we, we really loved them and appreciated them, but we’re glad to have them with us.

And we have a few of our own number here, but we do, we are here worshiping God. And that’s what counts. We do want to remember those that are not able to be with us. Those are at home watching the live stream. We’re thinking about y’all and praying for you. And we hope that everyone is doing well. It’s been a trying time,

but we’re still doing what God wants us to do. And we’re trying to, trying to glorify him and trying to lead others to his word, to become children of his. So just keep that in mind and everything will be fine. Just keep eyes on the Lord and try to do his will. And, and we’ll be good. We do won’t to,

if he failed to pick up your communion, it’s in the back of the auditorium on those tables and now would be a good time to get that. If you did not pick it up on the way in, we would ask that our visitors, if you don’t mind, please fill out an attendance card so that we might have a record of you being here.

We certainly appreciate that. And we hope if you’re back this way, we want to invite you to come back and stop by and see us again. We do want to remember those that are ill or the congregation, Joan Springer is at home. I didn’t get a chance to speak to Marie, but she’s still having difficulties some good days, some bad days.

So keep her in your prayers, Robin woods. We won’t also remember her. And then Jessica Dale is still having problems with her stomach, stomach problems. And we hope and pray that she they’ll be able to determine exactly what’s going on with her and help relieve her of, of that. She’s been dealing with that for quite some time. Remember Dorothy and Rodale Wilson.

They’re still at home and Rodale has lost a, of his family members. And we want to remember them in our prayers and both of them were in a very bad health. So keep them in mind. Jane and Marlin is doing well after her knee replacement surgery. And we’re thankful for that. And Cheryl’s dad has a fractured spine and I guess he’s doing as well as possible.

He’s in a brace. And I wanna remember them. I know Cheryl has a difficult time from time to time and we want to pray that she does. Okay. And taking care of her mom and dad, Keith Cozort that’s Aaron’s dad had two stents put in and he’s doing fine. He’s at home. And I think progressing along well. So in that same note,

we want to remember Aaron and Eddie and the boys they’re up there visiting with family and not be able to be with us. And we want to pray that everything goes well for them. They will be coming back later on this week, I believe around Thursday. They’re supposed to be back in back home here. So keep them in your prayers. Amy Cox is dad.

Alvin Griffin is in rehab after having a stroke, Amy and Chad used to worship here and it’s her dad. And we certainly hope that everything will go well for him. They’re just, they’re waiting to see how that’s going to work out. Natalie temple, Diane O’Neill’s nephew’s wife found out her cancer has returned. So we want to remember Diana’s nephew’s wife and pray that she,

they can actually get hurt the treatment that she needs at this time to help her do better. And then Jane’s, Sconiers that’s Diana’s aunt is back in the hospital with pneumonia and congestive heart failure. And we’re certainly, we’re sorry to hear about that on to pray for all of these individuals, that they can regain their health and come back to some reasonable amount of life.

As far as health goes, our daily Bible reading plan, and this is listed in each bullet and every Sunday and beginning of the first of the year, it will be. And in chronological order. So if you might notice it’s different perhaps from the one we used to use, where we were just reading the scriptures from Genesis to revelation, this is going to be in chronological order.

So we encourage everybody to be sure and pick up a bullet and then try to keep up with our daily Bible readings. I believe that saw the announcements that I have. I’ll be directing the song service this morning, and I hope you bear with me. We had someone else plan for this and could not make it. And you know, my throat goes out on me pretty much and I,

I might have to get Murray. His does the same thing. So maybe between the both of us, if mine just plays completely out, I might have to call on Marie to come up and take care of the rest of it. So, but we’ll, we’ll do the best we can. Eric Halverson has our opening prayer. Michael Dale has our sermon today.

Tommy O’Neil will be taken care of the Lord’s supper. And then at the closing we have Terry Sanderson will be leading us in our closing prayer. So if you would now most of the songs except for the invitation and the closing him will be on their overhead. The rest of those two, we’ll have to use our books. We’ll begin this morning with have that own way.

Number 552 should be on the overhead. After this song, we will have our opening prayer.<inaudible> I am the clay<inaudible> Mo man<inaudible> man<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Searchie man, TRIBE me master today, a wider then snow wash me<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and then on way, Lord, have I known what? Hey, hold on my being absolutes<inaudible> damn with ice fam and<inaudible> Christ on the,

ah, when living in me, God, our father in heaven, we come to you at this time, thanking you for another glorious day here on earth, thanking you for the ability for us to be able to assemble here, to sing songs of praise, your great name and worship you here in this assembly. Lord, we know there are many amongst us that are unable to be here for various reasons.

And we ask that you reach your loving arms out to them and provide the comfort that they need, that they seek from you on a daily basis. And if it be your will help those that are administering to them to find the right solutions to make their health better so that they can return to their desired measure health. And most importantly returned to assemble here with us to worship you,

God, we also know that there are those amongst us that have lost loved ones. Recently, we asked that you comfort those in only the way that you can. And we also know that there are many amongst us traveling because of the holiday season. And we asked him if it’d be your will provide them safe journey to their destination and return to where they plan on going after the holidays are over.

Now God, as we prepare to hear another portion of your word, that Michael is about to bring to us, we ask that you help each and every one of us focus on the message that he brings from your word so that we may understand it fully and use it in our lives to help serve you better. Because we know that is what we are truly here for is to serve you.

And Lord, we ask that you give each and every one of us to strengthen the courage we need so that when we come across those that have either fallen away from your word, or unfortunately have not opened their heart to your word yet that we reach out to them and bring your message and your word to them so that they may have the same opportunity that we do.

And that is to live with you for eternity and heaven. One day, we want to thank you for your son, Jesus, because it was him that made all this possible. We pray all this through his name. Amen Before comedian, but he numbers 383, 383. He’s an escape man here. The cross<inaudible> stream flow is from<inaudible> and<inaudible><inaudible> damn I right?

Sure. So Shopify rest be a<inaudible> NAFTA, CRA trembling. So love and<inaudible> that’s Bri and Morningstar<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> my ride sharing. So Shopify rest me.<inaudible> Nat CRA. So I’ve got<inaudible> army up man from day to day with<inaudible><inaudible> and across<inaudible> damn my ride sharing. So Shafai rest being a<inaudible> H Lawrence Day. We have the privileged eight with this bread and drink of this cup to remember the death of our Lord and savior and the sacrifice that he made each one for each one of us,

would you probably with me, our heavenly father. We truly thank you for Christ. Our savior. We thank you for this bread to us represents his body. That was hung on a cross. We pray that if we partake of it, that each one of us would dwell on the horrible death across God for each one of us, these things we ask in his name,

amen, our heavenly father. We continue our thanks for this fruit of the vine, which to us represents the blood of her savior she had for our sins, as we partake of it, help each one of us to do so with humble and thankful to heart. These things we ask in Christ’s name, amen.<inaudible> with me, Our heavenly father.

We thank you for all of the blessings. If we unjoin this lie, we thank you for all of the material blessings that we enjoy in this country. We know that all we have to do is to look at the news to realize truly how blessed we are. We pray that as we prepared to return under the, a part of that, that we’ve been blessed with,

we would do so with a cheerful and thankful heart. These things we ask in Christ’s name, amen. You would be marking your books for number 903. That would be our song of encouragement. Number nine Oh three will be our song of encouragement.<inaudible> I will be singing number 609, six Oh nine. Okay.<inaudible> I am not a<inaudible><inaudible> this word<inaudible> for mass is strong.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> my worth.

And this name<inaudible><inaudible> up or it’s for me.<inaudible> And, and now Michael Morning, everybody. Okay. This morning, I’m going to be preaching on being aware of Satan sneaky apostles. Our main tax is going to be taken from second Corinthians chapter 11, verses 13 through 15, second Corinthians chapter 11, verses 13 through 15 for such are false apostles.

Deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ and no Marvel for Satan himself has transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing. If his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works, the children of the Lord must be aware of false teachers appearing to preach the gospel of Christ.

I’m sure most of us in here at one point in time in our lives have heard the story of little red riding hood and a sweet little girl skipping through the woods with her basket of goodies on her way to her grandma’s house. While the ever stocking Wolf lingers in the shadows, watching her, waiting for her to get to a point where he can devour her.

I remember it well because at one point in time, the Wolf ran ahead of her, went to her grandmother’s house, ate up the grandmother and then put her clothes on and laid in bed, waiting for red riding hood. When she came, he ate her up too, but false apostles, like the Wolf in the story are good at disguising themselves to make what they are seeing sound really appealing to us.

Every time we see a fossil parcel, we notice something, a false apostles are always dressed. Really nice, like the Wolf and grandma’s clothes, false apostles, say all the things you want to hear, the better to see you with my dear. The better to hear you with my dear says the Wolf false apostles never actually speak the whole truth. The better to eat you with.

And he gobbled her up false apostles are lovers of money. And that is really all they care about lining their pockets while they sit back and watch you fall into sin all the while thinking that you are safe. You’re okay. Do you remember how the story of little red riding hood ended? It ended with a hero. The lumberjack comes rushing in. He kills the Wolf,

cuts them open and pools, red riding hood and his grandma and her grandmother out of, out of his stomach to safety here. As we read in second Corinthians chapter 11, 13 through 15 Paul who predates the Wolf story by quite a while, comes through inspiration of God, our true savior to warn and save the Corinthian church from the false apostles workers of the real Wolf.

Satan, The moral of the story is the children of the Lord must be aware of false teachers appearing to be preachers of the gospel to help us understand who these false apostles are. Paul through inspiration gives us a description. We have a description of the false apostles themselves. We have a description of the false apostles master, and then we have a description of the false apostles end.

Let us first consider the description. Paul gives us of the false apostles themselves. You will know the false apostles by their work. They are deceitful workers. He says in verse 13 of second, Corinthians 11 for such are false apostles, deceitful workers. They will pervert the gospel turn with me to Galatians chapter one, verses six and seven Galatians chapter one verses six and seven.

The very next book, Marvel that’s ER, so soon removed from him. That called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another, but there’ll be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. These spots, apostles pervert the gospel of Christ. They will unsettle your soul acts chapter 15 and verse 24 acts 1524<inaudible> For as much as we have heard that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words,

subverting your souls, saying you must be circumcised and keep the law to whom we gave no such commandment. There’s the birding, our souls. They speak perverse things acts 20 and verse 30 acts chapter 20 and verse 30. Also have your own selves. Shall men arise? Speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them, they speak these perverse things. These false apostles do to draw you away from Christ and his true word.

They will speak a different gospel, a gospel let’s turn back to Galatians chapter one, Galatians chapter one, and we’ll read verses eight and nine Paul through the inspiration writes. But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that, which we have preached unto you. Let him be a cursed, as we said before. So say I now again,

if any man preach any other gospel unto you, then that you have received. Let him be a curse. Paul is warning us up front already back 2000 years ago, almost that there’s going to be false apostles coming into us and trying to teach us another gospel, something that’s not right. And there ought to be a cursed false apostles. Also transform themselves.

They will disguise themselves. Let’s go back to our original text. Second Corinthians chapter 11, and we’ll read verse 13 again. Second Corinthians 11 and verse 13.<inaudible> For such are false apostles. Deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. They, they make themselves look like they’re from Christ. They will disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness. Read verse 15,

just a couple of verses down. Therefore it is no great thing. If his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, they’re going to try to make themselves seem like they’re good. So you will follow them. Why most of the time, so they can line their pockets. They’re sneaky. These false apostles are sneaky. Turn with me to Galatians chapter two,

one book over chapter two and verse four relations to four. And that because of false brethren, unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our Liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage and to bondage under Satan. They’re sneaky. They come in sneakily and they want to draw you away from Christ because they are Savage wolves among sheep acts chapter 20 in verse 29.

Let’s read this description, acts chapter 20 and verse 29. Excuse me. I’m having some allergy problems for, I know this that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you not just wolves, grievous wolves, these wolves are hungering for you not sparing the flock. They’re not going to spare anyone. They will disguise themselves. Even as sheep. These wolves will be masters of disguise.

Matthew chapter seven, turn with me to Matthew chapter seven and verse 15. Jesus tells us beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing. But inwardly, they are ravening wolves. They may look like one of us, but inwardly, they are hungering to pull you way to, to Satan, to pull you away to sin. But how can we tell who these false apostles are?

You will know them by their fruit. Jesus says Matthew chapter seven, verses 16 through 20 let’s continue reading here in Matthew chapter seven, Jesus said says, you shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles even so every good tree brings forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bring it forth. Evil fruit, a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit.

Neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits. You shall know them. They are going to, they will never practice righteousness. These false apostles don’t practice righteousness at all. Turn with me to John chapter three, verses seven through ten first John chapter three verses seven through 10 John through inspiration writes little children.

Let no man deceive you. He that do with righteousness is righteous. Even as he is righteous. He, that committed sin is of the devil for the devil Senate. From the beginning for this purpose, the son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin for his seed remain within him.

And he cannot sin because he is born of God. And this the children of God are manifest. And the children of the devil whosoever does not. Righteousness is not of God, neither. He that loveth not his brother. To me. That’s one of the main things. If you can see someone is pulling away, they’re not really loving towards you and the,

and the worship service. That’s someone you need to look out for. There is no good. And these false apostles turn with me. Second, Peter chapter two, that’s one book up second, Peter chapter two verses 10 through 19, but chief Lee, them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise government presumptuous are they self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignities,

whereas angels, which are greater in power and might bring not accusations against them before the Lord. But these as natural brute beasts, he says, made to be taken and destroyed, speak of, speak evil of the things that they understand, not and shall utter utterly perish in their own corruption and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness. As they, that count it pleasure to riot in the daytime spots they are and blemishes supporting sporting themselves with their own receivings while they feast with you having eyes full of adultery.

And that cannot cease from sin. Beguiling unstable souls and heart. They have exercised with covetous practices, cursed children, what ha, which have forsaken the right way and are gone astray. Following the way of bailing. The son of Bowser who loved the wages of unrighteousness, but was rebuked for his iniquity. The dumb donkey speaking with man’s voice for bad,

the madness of the prophet. These are Wells without water, these false prophets Wells, without water clouds that are carried with a Tempest, they go wherever the wind blows them to whom the midst of darkness is reserved forever for when they speak great swelling, words of vanity. They allure through the lust of the flesh through much wantonness. Those that were clean,

escaped from them who live in error while they promise them Liberty. They themselves are the servants of corruption for whom a man is overcome of the scene. As he brought in bondage, they stand up here and they preach to you. A sermon of Liberty. Faith only once saved, always saved. And all the while you think you are saved, when really you are looking to destruction,

let us consider what an apostle is here and apostle in the Greek is Apostolos which according to theorists, Greek lexicon is one who is sent forth with orders to be an apostle, even a false apostle. They must have one who has sent them thus through Paul’s writing and the, to the church in Corinth. We have a description of the false apostles master the false apostles master clearly as Satan,

he has shown to be their master by Paul and second Corinthians chapter 11. Let’s go back to our original texts. Second Corinthians chapter 11 and verses 13 and 14, second Corinthians 11, 13 and 14 for such are false apostles. Deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ and no Marvel for Satan himself has transformed into an angel of light Satan himself.

Jesus said that Satan is these false apostles father turn with me to John chapter eight, the gospel of John chapter eight verses 44 through 46, Seven John eight 44, three 47. Jesus States Of these false teachers year of your father, the devil that and the loss of your father, you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode,

not in truth because there is not truth in him. When we, when he speak, if a lie, he speaks of his own for he is a liar and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, you believe me, not, which of you convinced me of sin. And I say the truth. Why do you not believe me?

He, that is of God. Heareth God’s words either. Ye therefore hear them not because he are not of God. These false apostles not only teach falsely because of Satan, their father, the father of lies. They, they completely shun righteousness. Then the right word, they practice sin. Thus they are of their father. The devil turned back with me to first John chapter three in verse eight first John chapter three and verse eight.

He, that committed sin is of the devil for the devil. Sinneth from the beginning for this purpose, the son of God was manifest that he might destroy the works of the devil. Satan is also crafty and disguise. This is where his apostles false apostles learn. He decides disguises himself as an angel of light, second Corinthians 13 or 11 and verse 14.

And no Marvel for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. He wants you to come to him. So he’s not going to appear as he is. He’s going to appear as a messenger of God as a, as a angel of light. He, as we all know, he also disguised himself as a serpent once upon a time. And Paul get reiterated this to the church at Corinth and verse three of chapter 11,

just a few verses up. If you look at verse three, but I fear less by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety. So your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ, Seton employees, deceit to lead the saved astray. He is a liar, John eight 44, the gospel of John chapter eight. Let’s read it again.

And verse 44, ye are of your father, the devil and the less of your father. You will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode, not in truth because there is no truth in him. When he speak at the Y, he speaks with of his own for, he is a liar and the father of it, the father of lies.

He lied from the very beginning of time. Let’s go to Genesis chapter three, all the way back to the beginning, Genesis chapter three, and read verses one through five Genesis Chapter three, one through five. Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the field, which the Lord God had made. And he said, the woman, yea, hath God said,

ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden. It starts off subtly. You shall not eat of every tree of the garden. Of course he knew God told them they could eat every tree of the garden. And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree,

which is in the midst of the garden. God has said, you shall not eat of it. Neither shall ye touch it. Lest he die. And the serpent said unto the woman, he changes one word and it turns the whole thing into a lie. You shall not surely die. He says for God death, not, no, God doesn’t know that in the day you eat thereof and he appeals to their vanity,

then your eyes shall be open. And he shall be as gods. He says, knowing good and evil. Satan is a tricky beast. He has deceived the whole world from the beginning. And to the end, let’s go all the way to revelation revelation, chapter 12 and verse nine, revelation 12 and verse nine. And the great dragon was cast out that old serpent called the devil and Satan,

which deceive it the whole world. He was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him. He deceives the whole world all the way from Genesis, all the way down to revelation. He never stops trying to deceive the world. He was sent. He has sent his workers throughout the entire world to, to, so his madness first,

John chapter four in verse one first John chapter four and verse one, John writes beloved believe not every time the spirit, but try the spirits. Whether they are of God, because as many false prophets are gone out into the world. Many, not one, not a hundred, not a thousand, but many are out there trying to bring us away from God because Satan is relentless.

He roams the earth looking to do evil. We read of this when he’s look into torture job and job chapter one in verse seven, job chapter one and verse seven. And the Lord said unto Satan come SL as if God didn’t know, right then Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down,

it he’s out there. He’s going to and fro on the earth. He’s walking up and down at everywhere. He possibly can to seek your soul because Satan is waiting to devour you. First, Peter chapter five in verse eight, we’re told through inspiration of the Holy spirit. Peter writes in first Peter chapter five and verse eight, be sober. We are to be sober,

be vigilant. We are to be village in because your adversary, the devil as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking. He may devour. He’s not just waiting for you to come. He’s out there seeking you, waiting to devour you. There’s a reason we are given these descriptions of the false apostles and their master Satan. This is so we can resist them.

First, Peter chapter five, verse nine, whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished and your brethren that are in the world, we must resist him. Now let us consider that. Paul gives us hope by giving us a description of the false apostles end, their end will be according to their words. Paul writes of this to the church at Corinth,

back in our original texts. Second Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 15, second Corinthians 11, 15. Therefore it is no great thing. If his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works, they will meet Swift destruction. Second, Peter chapter two in verse one second, Peter chapter two and verse one,

but there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privileged shall bring in damnable, heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves Swift destruction. Their destruction is going to be Swift as liars. They will be thrown into the Lake of fire revelation, chapter 21 and verse eight, revelation 21 and verse eight,

But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and I Dodgers and all liars, all false apostles are liars shall have their part in the Lake, which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Their end is utter destruction. We can read of this and Philippians chapter three and verse 19, Philippians chapter three and verse 19,

whose end is destruction whose God is their belly and whose glory is their shame who mind earthly things. These false apostles will need and utter destruction. And that’s why we need to watch out for them. So we don’t end up with the same destruction. God is going to judge the false apostles, just like he judges everyone. Jesus will tell them to depart in the end,

turn with me to Matthew chapter seven, again, Matthew chapter seven, and we’ll read verses 21 through 23. Yeah, Matthew seven 21 through 23. Not everyone that Seth unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. But he, that do it. The will of my father, which is in heaven, many will say to me in that day,

Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in their name? And in the name of cast out devils and in my name have done many wonderful works. I think of the, the people out there who lay their hands on people and try to give them the Holy spirit to them and things like that. They’ve done all of these mighty magnificent works in his name.

And then will I profess unto them? I never know. I knew you depart from me, ye that work iniquity, what a terrible feeling to be before Jesus and telling him all of these awesome works that you’ve done. And for him to say, I never knew you depart from me. They will be judged according to their deeds. Turn with me to Romans chapter two,

Romans chapter two, let’s all turn there. Romans chapter two. And we’ll read, this is a little bit of a lengthy reading, but I want to read it Matthew or Romans chapter two verses one through 16, therefore, or thou art inexcusable. Oh man. Whosoever thou art that judges for wearing now judges to another they’ll condemn us thyself for thou that judges does the same things,

but we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them, which commit such things and think is now this, Oh man, that judges them, which do such things and dust the same and now shall escape the judgment of God or despise the Sal, the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long suffering. Not knowing that the goodness of God lead a theory to repentance,

but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurer stuff onto the ice self wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteousness, judgment of God, righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man, according to his deeds, to them who by patient countenance and well-doing seek the glory and honor of immortality eternal life, but unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth,

but obey on righteousness, dig nation and wrath, tribulation, and angry wish upon every soul of man that do with evil of the Jew first and also of the Gentile, but glory honor and peace to every man that works with good to the Jew first and also the Gentile for there is no respecter of persons with God, for as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law.

And as many as I’ve sin in the law shall be judged by the law for not the heroes of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified for when the Gentiles, which have not the law do by nature. The things contained in the law. These having not the law are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts.

Their conscience also bearing witness and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. And the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus, according to my gospel, let us also consider second Peter chapter two in verses four through nine second, Peter chapter two verses four through nine, God spared, not the angels that sin, God didn’t even spare the angels that sinned.

He chased them down, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment and spared, not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemn them with an overthrow,

making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly. These are our examples. We are supposed to pay attention to our examples from God and deliver just lot vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked for that righteous man dwelling among them and seeing, and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day, what their unlawful deeds, the Lord Noah, how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.

The children of the Lord must be aware of false teachers appearing to be preachers of the gospel. Last we be led astray. We have our helps from Paul right here in second Corinthians, chapter 11. It’s like a wanted poster. We have the dis there description so we can see who they are. We know who their master is, thus, what they practice lying and deceit.

We know what their end will be and must work to stop them as children of God, let us be careful of the Wolf seeking to devour and expose them for who they truly are. Ephesians five 11. Always remember if God, before us, who can be against us, Romans eight 31 as followers of Christ, we are all messages of his word commissioned to teach every nation,

Matthew 28, 18 or 19 and 20, and every creature about this truth, Mark 16, 15, we must first get them to hear the gospel for through hearing comes faith. John Mark, excuse me, Mark. Hm, Romans 10 17. We must teach them to a point of belief in Jesus as the Christ, because we do not want them to be lost in their sin.

John eight 24, we must teach them to a point of repentance because God commands every man everywhere to repent acts 1730. And we must teach that if they want to be confessed by Christ before the father in heaven, they must confess Jesus as the Christ before men, Matthew 10 32, and that confession leads to salvation. Romans 10, nine, and 10.

We must teach the laws that they must be baptized acts 2216, and we must teach and understand ourselves that salvation does not come just because we followed the steps through baptism. We must live faithfully until death to receive our crown of righteousness and heaven. First, John one, six and seven in revelation, two 10. Unlike what you will hear from the false false apostles.

Every step is necessary for salvation. Believing is not enough. You cannot faith into heaven and you are not baptized and always saved. You must follow every step. And if you have yet to heat each step to gain salvation, the waters of baptism already for you. And if you find yourself wavering on the path of righteousness and need the prayers of the scenes for encouragement,

we are here for you because the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much James, five 16, whatever your need, please come forward. As we stand and sing, You be free from the bird and there’s fire in the blond word. You are already a victory when there’s one<inaudible>, there is<inaudible> wonder working and<inaudible><inaudible> would you do serve it’s shirking,

there’s fire in the blah.<inaudible> word. You live day is praises to saying there’s one there and the blah<inaudible> wonder working then<inaudible><inaudible> there is<inaudible> working in<inaudible>. I want to say to Michael, that was a good job he did today for those that this is your first time to be here. Michael is a student at the school of preaching and he has grown tremendously.

He’ll be graduating this year, this coming year, and he’s, he’s been improving all the time. And we’re thankful that he was able to be here today and preach in Erin’s absence. We haven’t preached for several times each month. So good to have our visitors here. I did fail to mention one thing. Jenny’s dad who suffered a stroke. He is at home under hospice care and just doing the best he can.

He has good days and bad days. I think keep him in your prayers as well. I just overlooked announcements for our visitors. We help if you’re continuing your travels, which I know some of you are understand, headed up to Ohio. We wish you well and have a safe trip. And if you’re through this area on the way back home, drop back in and see us again.

We’d love to have you. Our closing ham will be number 878. If I can get through it was saying the first and last versus 878, and we’ll be landing the closing prayer. And Terry will lead us in that prayer. There’s a line that is<inaudible>. And by Fang, when he can see in a fog for the father waits over the way to<inaudible>,

then I swing by and by. We shot me on that<inaudible> then the swing by and by. We shall be on that<inaudible> to our, about Jeff, a father, we went off<inaudible> for the<inaudible> job is<inaudible> then the swing by and by me shot me on that.<inaudible> then the swing by and by. We show me on that<inaudible> show.

So Let’s pray, father Lord in heaven. Again, we find you for this beautiful first day of the week and the opportunity we’ve had to come together as your children to sing songs of praise and to the, into worship day and studied that word. We pray that the things that we have learned here today will help us to strengthen our Christian life and to reach out to others more.

We pray that you’d be with those that are traveling, especially with Aaron and his family who are based in with his, with their family, bring them back safely. We pray that you would be with those that have been mentioned today that are sick and unable to be with us. We pray that you would comfort them and comfort to the families that are tending to them.

We pray that you would go with his Nan and keep us safe during this pandemic and keep us healthy so we can be here together. Christ’s name. We pray. Amen.<inaudible>.

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A Fair Test – Daniel 1

In Articles by Aaron Cozort

The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar gives an order. He appoints a daily portion of his wine and delicacies to be given to certain young men who were in training for positions in his government as wise men and leaders. Yet, four of the young men cannot accept.
Daniel, Hananiah, Michael, and Azariah are from Jerusalem. These four are among the best young men in Judah. When the Babylonian king besieges Judah, He will carry them and many others like them back to Babylon to train for his courts.
Daniel and his friends know that the appointed food would be delicious to eat. They also know what God spoke through Moses to their ancestors. They cannot taste these delicacies nor drink this intoxicating wine. Doing so would make them unclean before God and cause them to sin against His commands.
They request an alternative for themselves. Daniel petitions the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. The petition is met with hesitancy by the head of the eunuchs. Why should he endanger his life that Daniel might do this?
Daniel seeks a third alternative. Daniel 1:12-13 reads, “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.”
The test is approved. “And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies.” (Daniel 1:15). God blesses Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael for their faithfulness. Upon examination by the King, they surpass all his magicians and astrologers in wisdom and understanding.
There are a few lessons here for us today. When we are faced with a choice to do good or evil, we ought always to choose the good. After we decide to do good, we must not back down from that choice when unbelievers stand in our way. Finally, when we choose the right action and persevere, we should prepare ourselves for God’s blessings and give thanks to the One who cares for us.

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12-23-2020 – Hebrews 11-13 (Live)

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams, The Book of Hebrews by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

We’ll begin with a brief prayer as we normally do. And then we’ll have some concluding thoughts and just informational things at the end, let’s begin with a word of prayer, our gracious father in heaven, we bow before you grateful for the day you’ve given to us the life that we have, the honor that we have to serve you. We pray that you will be with us as we go through this period of this holiday season during this time where some of us are separated from one another,

but we might be close to those many others whom we love. We pray for those who were separated from their loved ones in their family because of health reasons. And we pray that they might have the strength to be courageous and, and comforted at this time, pray that you watch over them as they go throughout their daily lives. We pray for those who are struggling and with illnesses,

especially those who are dealing with COVID at this time or mindful of congregations that are mourning the loss of loved ones because of this disease. And we pray that they will have comfort in hard times as well. We pray for continued health among all those of our congregation. And we pray for all those whom they love all this. We pray in Jesus name,

amen. As Hebrews chapter 10 concludes Hebrews chapter 10 ends with these words. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul, the Hebrews writer wants these Christians to know that he knows who they are. He knows what they’ve been through. He knows what they believe and what they were taught.

And he has confidence in them. The way God had confidence in the righteous people in Judah in the days of Habakkuk, when God told Habakkuk the just shall live by faith. Now that didn’t mean that the just didn’t undergo difficulty. Imagine you were Daniel, Hannah and I as riot Michelle. And you found yourself carted off as a young man to Babylon.

Now, did you experience difficulty? Yes. But did God provide for you? Yes. And so God tells Habakkuk the just shall live by faith. The Hebrew writer tells these Christians, the just shall live by faith. And if anyone draws back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. And the Hebrew writer says, but we know you. We know you and you’re not going to draw back.

You’re going to remain faithful. That brings us to chapter 11, verse one. Now the Hebrew writer says faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence as the new King, James puts it of things not seen beginning. At this point in the, in the passage, the Hebrew writer is going to begin from here and the entire chapter, all of chapter 11 and into chapter 12 is a discussion of people who by faith obeyed not having seen the promise.

Now go to the end of chapter 11 and let’s set this discussion. He says beginning in verse 36 of chapter 11, still others had trial of mockings and scourgings yes, and have chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn into, they were tempted slain with the sword they wandered about in sheepskins. And goatskins being destitute afflicted, tormented of whom the world was not worthy.

They wandered in deserts and mountains and dens and caves of the earth and all these having obtained a good testimony through faith did not receive the promise. The entire chapter is about those who were faithful because of God’s word, their faith. Having heard, having believed what God said, having been promised some thing they were faithful and didn’t give up, even though he says all these never obtained the promise,

what he doesn’t mean is he doesn’t mean God promised them something and didn’t deliver yet. They were faithful in a way that no, no, no. That’s not what he’s talking about. He’s saying the promise, the promise that they were looking for all ultimately was a spiritual promise and any terminal promise in contrast to a physical promise, they received the physical things though.

They may not have received them in their day. The future generations might have, but they did all of it and obeyed by faith, looking for a promise that they never obtained in their lifetime on the earth, God, verse 40, having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. So he’s talked about the blood of Christ,

which flowed backwards for their forgiveness, flowed forwards for our forgiveness. And he said they didn’t receive those better things apart separate from us. But instead we were an integral part of their promise. So we begin in chapter 11, okay. With a discussion of faithful people in the old Testament, he says, verse two for by it, the elders obtained a good testimony.

He’s talking about faith. He’s talking about confidence in things that are not seen. Verse six. We’re just going to mention it here. We’ll cover it when we get there. But he says, without faith, it is impossible to please God, please him for he, that cometh to him or he who comes to God must believe that he is. And that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him two basic premises that he lays forward here for an obedient.

Faith is number one, the belief that God is the belief in his existence and that he is what he said he Is. And number two, That he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Every single one of the people listed all the way throughout this chapter had faith that God would reward them for obedience. In other words, that when God promised something,

the reward he promised he would deliver, okay, this is not a pie in the sky. God’s going to do wonderful things in my life because I’m obedient to him. This isn’t every day’s going to be good because I’m faithful to God. This isn’t anything like that. This is God will reward those. According to his promises who are faithful, according to his promises,

okay? That’s the point of chapter 11. So he begins with Abel Verse four, Actually, let’s, let’s go back to verse two for a minute for, by at the elder. So he’s talking about those who came before the elders obtained a good testimony by faith. We understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. So that the things which are seen were not made of things which are Visible.

He says, you look at the world around you and the things you see, don’t Clearly demonstrate where they originated because They originated by the word of God. And yet he says, we understand that the things which aren’t seen have an impact on the things which are seen. And so the faith is the substance. The Undergirding of own Understanding of things hoped for that is things confidently assured of the use of hope in the Hebrew writers.

Writing is again, not a leap in the dark, not faith without evidence. It is instead the confident assurance of testimony that is the confident assurance of God’s word. So he says that faith is the substance, the undergirding of the things that have been confidently promised by God and in which we have assurance the evidence of things we have not seen. And then he goes to creation to say,

Here you go, you see This, but you know, it didn’t originate itself. There are some people today who Still believe it originated itself. How foolish, where did the first thing come from? They have no, cause They have no origination point. They have no substance whereby they can get the very first thing, because back of the first thing,

there had to be something in that case that is first physical thing. The back of all that is God and his word. So by faith, we understand verse three, that the worlds were framed by the word of God. So that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. And then he’s going to begin with Abel talking about faith,

obedience, and confidence in what is not seen by faith. Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain through which he obtained witness, that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts. And through it, he being dead still speaks. The Hebrew writer says, Abel’s talking to you, he’s talking to you because by his actions, he obeyed having confidence that what he was told to do mattered,

that what he was told to do was exactly what he should do. You go back to Genesis and you read about Cain and Abel. And the, the obvious difference is one of them obeyed what they were told to do. And one of them did what they wanted to do. And the one who obeyed was the one who was, was righteous, verse five by faith,

Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death and was not found because God had taken him for four. He was taken, he had this testimony that he pleased God, not just God looked at emic and said, you know what? I like him I’ll hold so much better than everybody else. No, no, no, no. That he was obedient and pleasing to God.

But then also verse six, commenting on<inaudible>. But without faith, it is impossible to please him. Okay. So we’ve got clarity on what this, this action was that caused<inaudible> to be pleasing to God. It was his faithful obedience without faith. It is impossible to please him for he that comes to God must believe that he is. And that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him by faith,

Noah being divinely warned of things. Not yet seen, watch that all the way through this. Not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an art for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness, which is according to faith, by faith, Abraham obeyed, when he was called to go out to a place,

which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. Where did he someplace he had not seen yet? He did it in faith confidence that what God promised he would deliver by faith verse nine. He dwelled in the land of promise as in a foreign country dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.

And yet did Isaac or Jacob received the promise? Did they receive the land promise? The land that had been promised to Abraham? No, they didn’t receive it either. They as well dwelled in a land with a promise. They never had fulfilled in their lifetime For he waited. Now this goes back to Abraham for he waited for the city, which has foundations,

whose builder And maker is God Abraham. Ultimately I wasn’t looking for God to build him a physical city to dwell in. He wasn’t looking for a home or habitation on this earth. He was looking For any terminal abode Builder or, or a city built with foundations and not made with hands verse 11 by faith, Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed.

And she bore a child when she was past the age because she judged him faithful who had promised talk about something, not yet saying here’s Abraham and Sarah, having confidence that God will give them a seed when they’ve never seen someone born out of season, that is out of the age where it’s past the point of, of childbearing. And yet they’ve never seen that.

And yet they have confidence that God is able to do what he says might make note not perfect confidence. They it’s not as though they always understood everything and always had complete confidence after all, both of them at different times laughed when God said he was going to do what he said he was Going to do. Perfection Is not the same as faith, faithful obedience over overcomes Perfect knowledge.

Okay? Because it relies on the testimony of God. Instead of Our own knowledge. When we Out of our own senses, our own observation, think we have discovered everything and we no longer need God. That’s when we will lose Our faith. When we stop believing The word of God and substitute our own understanding, therefore from one man, verse 12 and him as good as dead.

In other words, past the point of a bearing children were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude, in numerable as the sand, which is by the seashore. These died in faith. They’re all in the point of still being faithful to God’s still trusting that God would fulfill the promise. And yet had not seen the promise fulfilled. God said that your seed would be,

is innumerable as the stars of heaven, the sand of the seashore yet. Did Abraham see all of those people be born? No, he didn’t. Yet. He saw Isaac who was born. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off we’re assured of them embrace them and confess that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

For those who say such things, declare plainly that they seek a Homeland. And, and truly If they had called to mine, the country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity rich to return. But now they desire a better. That is an enduring country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for. He has prepared a city for them.

Abraham, it is described, looked for a city whose builder and maker was God. And now we read and God’s going to deliver exactly what he said. God’s going to deliver exactly what he was looking for. These patriarchs died in faith, and God will be faithful To his promise by faith. Abraham. He’s not done yet By faith. Abraham, when he was tested,

offered up Isaac and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son. Here’s Abraham as another example, all right. Things not yet seen. Did Abraham ever witnessed God raise someone from the dead? No, but Abraham’s going to have confidence that God promised him Isaac, and that if he fulfills this requirement of offering Isaac, then he will receive Isaac back from the dead.

This of whom it was said in Isaac, your seed shall be called concluding that God was able to raise him up. Even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense by faith. Isaac blessed Jacob. And he saw concerning things to come. Isaac told Esau and Jacob, this is what God’s going to do for you. And yet it would not happen for years to come after Isaac was dead.

Yet he had faith and confidence that what God said he would do, he would do by faith. Jacob, when he was dying blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped leaning on this top of his staff by faith, Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel and gave instruction concerning his bones. How much more confidence do you need than what Joseph had?

How much more confidence could you possibly have them, what he had and that he not only said, Hey, I want you to be sure to leave Egypt and to Israel where God promised you were supposed to go to the promised land. But he said, and take my bones with you. He made preparations for hundreds of years later for them to carry his bones out of Egypt.

And he was dead and gone, but he had such confidence that God would do what he said, that he made preparations for his bones Verse 23 By faith. Moses, when he was born was hidden three months by his parents because they saw he was a beautiful child and they were not afraid of the King’s command by faith. Moses, when he had become of age,

refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, steaming, Sorry, just, I was afraid there for a minute that it wasn’t recording a steaming. Let me start back. Verse 24 by faith. Moses, when he became of age refused to be called the sons of Pharaoh’s daughter,

choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. Esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures in Egypt for he looked to the reward by faith. He versus Egypt not fearing the wrath of the King for he endured as seeing him who is invisible by faith. He kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood last.

He who destroyed the first born should touch them by faith. They well let’s, let’s talk about Moses here for a minute. Before we get into Israel, he’s uses all of these illustrations, actually beginning with Amram and Jochebed bed. The parents of Moses, he says they had faith that God would protect their son. So they disobeyed the command of the King.

You know, there’s a time and a place to disobeyed the commands of the King. The King said, you kill every male child of Israel and they didn’t do it. They protected their son and they trusted God could deliver him. And Moses then in turn, grew of age and refused to be called. The son of Pharaoh’s daughter refused to be identified it as an,

as an Egyptian refuse to take part in the riches of Pharaoh’s house. Instead being willing to suffer reproach, suffer affliction, to suffer for the eternal goal, the term reward, and the Hebrew writer describes it as esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than treasures in Egypt. How is it that Moses saw Christ? He saw Christ by seeing What God had promised you remember Deuteronomy chapter 18.

Moses said, there’s coming a day where God’s going to raise up another prophet, like under me. And who’s he talking about? He’s talking about the Messiah. He is talking about Christ. So then He did all of these things, including things not seen. God said, you put blood on the doorpost, you observed the Passover, you observed the sprinkling of blood or your firstborn.

I have every family that doesn’t do that. It’s going to be Die. Now they ever seen that happen before? No. Did they trust it was going to happen? Yeah. How do we know they did they put blood on the doorposts? They by faith obeyed concerning things. Not yet seen. So then verse 29 by faith, they passed through the red sea as by dry land.

Whereas the Egyptians attempting to do so were drowned. Had they ever seen the waters parted? Had they ever seen dry ground created at the bottom of the sea so that they could walk? No. But did they walk across anyway? Yes. And did that dry ground then get overflowed by the waters once again and destroy their enemies? Yes. By bye.

Faith, verse 30, the walls of Jericho fell down after they were in re encircled for seven days. Had they ever seen that happen? You ever decided that the best plan of action for defeating the city was to walk around it for seven days in a row? No. By faith, the harlot Rayhab did not perish with those who did not believe when she received the spies with peace.

And what more shall I say for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Bay rack of Samson. And Jephthah also of David and Samuel and the prophets who through faith, subdued, kingdoms worked, righteousness obtained promises stopped the mouths of lions quenched. The violence of fire escaped. The edge of the sword out of the weakness were made strong, became value,

and embattled turned to flight. The armies of the aliens women received their dead raised to life. Again, others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trials mockings and scourgings yes. And of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn in two, they were tempted. They were slaying with a sword.

They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins being destitute afflicted Had these Christians given up their home, had these Christians walked about destitute, had these Christians who were Considering going back to Moses, who were abandoning their faith and their obedience of God, because they hadn’t yet received. The promise. Were these Christians, those who had walked about destitute, afflicted and tormented,

he says those who did those, who did that? The world wasn’t worthy of them. They Wandered in deserts and mountains and dens and caves of the earth and all these having obtained a good testimony through faith did not receive the promise. Now he says His point, Are you so much better than they are? Or do you need to be living up to their example?

Notice he says, God, having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great, a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance. The race that is set before us looking unto Jesus,

the author, the originator and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. He says, you look at all those people who came before you, you look at all those people who in the old Testament who did these things, and then you look at Jesus and you look at what he did for you and what he did so that those in the past could have part in the promise with you.

Not apart from you. And you’re considering going back. Yeah. Consider him. He says, verse three, who endured such hostility from sinners. This is talking about Jesus against himself. Lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You, he says, have not yet resisted the blood shed, striving against sin. He said, nobody’s killing you.

Nobody’s torturing. You may mean you killing you, removing your head yet. Now there would Be a time that would come for the Christians, but he says, you’re not there yet. Now you look At your master. You look at your savior. What did he do for you? Did he go to the cross? So why are you giving up Now?

You Haven’t even gone to this point. All right, let’s go through the questions from chapter 11 real quick. And then we’ll move through chapter 12. I’m not sure how far we’re going to get into 13, but we’ll, we’ll see what happens. Chapter 11, questions. Number one, hopefully you’ve been able to download these from the website. They are going to available on the website.

If not, we’ll get a copy to you. They’ll also be at the church building printed off Hebrews chapter 11, verse one, question one. What is faith? Chapter 11 verse one says faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things. Not, not seen question two verse three of chapter, 11 of what did God create? The worlds verse Three says by faith,

we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. Okay? So what the God created the worlds, his word. Yes or no. I guess the other, the other possible answer is they were made of things. Not seen the End there. Verse three, Question three. Yes or no. Can gut can an individual, please. God,

without faith. This is from verse six. Answer of course is no, yes or no. Again from verse six, does God reward those who seek him? Yes. The Question for this coming through all of chapter 11, the faith of Abel Enoch, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, his parents and Ram and Jacobin Moses Ray Hab Gideon.

Bayrock Samson, Jeff, the David Samuel, and the prophets was seen by there. So the faith of all these people was seen by their Blank. Obviously that’s obedience, their actions, These people of faith listed in Hebrews 11 were seeking a, an earthly country or be a heavenly country verses 13 through 16, says it. They were seeking a heavenly country.

Now these two pertain to previous lessons, not from chapter 11, name the Bible book, which says there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism. I’ll leave you to find that I know what the answer is. And I’m sure you do too. Name the Bible book, which States I can do everything through True Christ. Okay. So that’s chapter 11 questions.

Now Let’s head into chapters 12 and 13. Chapter 12 is going to focus on a couple of primary points. Number one, God, correcting or chastening his children as sons. That’s going to be verses five through 11. Then verse 12 through verse 17 is the Hebrew writers admonitions. It’s his exhortations, his commandments to strengthen their presence, their, their faith and their resolve.

And then verses 18 through 29. A reminder that they’ve received a better covenant and a better kingdom than those in the days of Israel. Okay? Some of this we’re just going to read through for the sake of time. So we can say a few things about chapter 13, chapter 12, verse three begins with the discussion of Christ for consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself.

Lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted the bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation, which speaks to you as to sons. He says, my son do not despise the chastening of the Lord nor be discouraged. When you are rebuked by him, for whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourges.

Every son whom he receives. This comes from Proverbs, chapter three, verses 11 and 12. God says as the Solomon points out to his son, that when you receive chastening from the Lord, you don’t think that’s because he doesn’t love you. You remember that’s because he does love you, everyone, whom the Lord loves he chastens. He corrects, he instructs.

He sets on a right path. The obstacles, the trials, the difficulties in life, the things set before us and set before these people in the old Testament weren’t set before them because God hated them. They were set before them because God loved them. And he was teaching them. Verse seven, you endure chastening. God deals with you as with sons,

for what son is there, who may father does not chasing. If you have a good father, your father corrects you. He has from your youth corrected you. So you don’t do things that are harmful to you. But if you are without chastening of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. He describes them as those.

He says, if you want a life without chastening, then you want the life of a child whose illegitimate, whose father will have nothing to do with him. He doesn’t correct him. He doesn’t instruct him. He doesn’t set him on the right path because he is an illegitimate child and not cared for by his father. Furthermore, verse nine, we have had human fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect.

Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the father, spirits and live. There’s just a little side note here. If you have children who completely disrespect their parents, it’s not always the case, but it is often the case that that’s because their parents never corrected them. Even a child who doesn’t like the correction of eventually sees the value in it.

If they’re not a fool, they may not have liked it. And matter of fact, he brought, he was going to say, when we didn’t like it, and yet we respected them because they corrected us. Verse 10 for they indeed for a few days, chastened us as seen best to them that his parents on this earth, physical parents, but he God,

the father for our profit, he knows exactly what we need. That we may be partakers of his holiness. Now, no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful, no point when we were corrected by our earthly fathers, were we happy about being corrected? Did we find joy in being corrected, but it was useful afterward. It yields peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

As opposed to those who said, because of this hardship, I’m departing those foods Who wouldn’t be taught, who wouldn’t Here. God, therefore, verse 12. Now he’s going to move into his admonitions. His Eggert exhortations. He’s saying you need to learn this. Therefore strengthen the hands, which hang down and the feeble knees and make straight paths for your feet.

So that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed, pursue peace with all people and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord looking carefully. Lest anyone falls short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up, but cause trouble. And by this many become defiled, lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau,

who for one morsel of food sold his birthright for, you know, that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected for. He found no place for repentance though. He sought it diligently with tears. Okay? As he describes this, he says, here’s what you need to do. You need to strengthen. What’s weak. You need to set straight paths before your fee.

You need to pursue not just peace, but peace and holiness. And you need to look carefully. And the idea of looking carefully here is an inspection for you need to examine yourselves less there be sin in your life, and then use as Esau. As the example, Esau gave up his birthright, something he had not yet seen. He gave up his birthright.

He could see the soup. What he saw was an immediate value to him. He For suc what had greater value. So the exact opposite of the examples before here’s one who disrespected, disregarded the promise Of his birthright and sold it for a meal. Now, then we have verses 18 Through 29 through the end of the chapter, discussing their better covenant and their better kingdom.

There’s a lot that could be said here. We don’t have time to really say it. Now we’ll say this kind of summarize What’s here. This Goes back to Exodus 19. This goes back to God’s presence at Mount Sinai, where initially God said to all Israel, if you touch the mountain, while my presence is here, you’ll die. If an animal touches the mountain he’ll die.

If you climb on the mountain, you’ll die. As a matter of fact, they even had commandment to stone or to shoot with arrows. Those who did it, God, didn’t say I’m immediately gonna strike you dead. God said, you all are going to protect my mountain. As I speak to you. And he describes Moses as fear, he describes the fear of the people and all of this.

He says, they came to this earthly mountain that was burning with fire and they heard the voice of God. And they were so afraid And they couldn’t approach him. There’s the key in this text, the key is they had a kingdom and they had a covenant sealed With blood sealed with promises, but they could not Approach God. And yet you have a Better covenant because you can approach God.

That’s verses 18 through 24, verse 25, 1329. He then says, see that you do not refuse him. Who speaks for if they did not raise, did not escape. Who refused him, who spoke on the earth? How much more shall we not escape? If we turn away from him who speaks from heaven, they didn’t escape. When they turned against Moses,

how do you think we’re going to end up? If we turn away from God whose voice then shook the earth. But now he has promised saying yet, once more, I shall shake, not only the earth, but also heaven. Now this once more indicates the removal of those things, which had been, which are being shaken, the rest of Judaism,

as of things that are made and the things which cannot be shaken, that the things which cannot be shaken may return. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom, which cannot be shaken, let us have grace that by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear for our God is a consuming fire. And that comes from Exodus chapter 24.

When, as they’re instituting the covenant between Israel and God, that statement is made. And there’s much that could be talked about there in Exodus 24, verses 12 through 18. Again, don’t have time. One of these days, we’re going to come back here and talk about all this stuff we’ve said. We don’t have time to discuss chapter 13 in very Quick summary form.

He says, as he begins with a number of additional exhortations, kind of drawing these ideas to a conclusion, he says, let brotherly love continue. Just like Peter would say to those Christians in second, Peter chapter one, brotherly love or brotherly kindness as talked about in by Peter has a lot to do with our continuing faith, our thoughtfulness and care for one another.

He says, do not forget to entertain strangers for by doing so. Some of us are unwittingly entertained angels. It’s not talking about having a fancy party at your house. I was talking about hospitality, serving others. Remember the prisoners is if chained with them, those who are mistreated since you yourselves are in the body. Also, don’t just think about your own situation.

Think about those who are suffering as Christians. He says, marriage is honorable among all and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. He had just spoken about Esau as being a fornicator. And that was part of his problem. His willingness to serve his fleshly desires instead of God. And here he says, marriage is to be kept he to let your conduct be without covetousness,

be content with such things as you have for he himself has said, I will never neither leave you nor forsake you so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me? Remember those who rule over. You have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.

Jesus Christ is the same. Yesterday, today and forever. He says, you be, you be content with what you have. If what you have is Relationship with an unchanging. God, If you have that, then you have everything. If you don’t have that, then you have nothing and you can have all the possessions in the world. But if you don’t have that relationship with God,

the one who doesn’t change, you have no hope. So he says, you watch those who have the rule over you. This, I believe firmly resides in a discussion of elders. He says, you watch the elders And you live like them. If they Are what they should be. If they’re elders who are worthy of being elders, he says,

you watch their faith and you do what they do very much the same as what Paul said to the church at Corinth. When he said, you follow after me As I follow after Christ verse nine. And he says, do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines for it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited.

Those who have occupied, who have been occupied by them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat for the bodies of those animals. Whose blood is brought is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore God or Jesus also verse well, therefore Jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood Suffered outside the gate for here.

We have no continuing city. Sorry. I missed a verse. Let’s go back to verse 12. Therefore Jesus also, He might sanctify the people with his own blood Suffered outside the gate led Or therefore let us go forth to him Outside the camp, bearing his reproach For here. We have no continuing city, but we seek the One to come. Therefore By him,

let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God. That is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name, but do not forget to do good and to share for, with such sacrifices. God is well pleased and I’ll go all the way back chapter 11. And what did he say? God was pleased With faithful obedience. He says now do good to others and show your faith as James would put it by your work Works and not your faith without your works,

obey those who ha who rule over you again, looking at elders And be submissive for they watch out for your souls as those who must give account, let them do so with joy and not with grief for that would be unprofitable for You. Pray for us. For, we are confident that we have a conscience in all things declare desire. Yes, desiring to live honorably.

But I especially urge you to do this. That I may be restored to you. You the sooner now God of peace, who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you complete in every good work to do his will working in you. What is pleasing Well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ,

To whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. The writer says, I want God to work In you. Is There any indication he thinks that’s going to happen without the Hebrew brethren working, Working on themselves, that would kind of fight Single. Let us, let us, let us, let us, let us statement all throughout the book. He doesn’t expect them to receive from God a change in their lives until they enact a change in their lives Drives by faith and obedience.

He says, I appeal to you brethren bear with the word of exhortation Four, I have written to you in few words, much more could have been said much longer could have been the letter, but know that our brother Timothy has been set free with whom I shall see you. If he comes shortly, greed, all those who rule over you And all the saints,

those from Italy, greet you, grace, be with you all. Amen. The Hebrew writer says a great deal to these brethren. And he says, ultimately, it’s up to them. It’s up to them to choose you. And I, it’s also up to us, it’s up to us to choose whether or not we’ll be faithful, whether or not we’ll hold fast,

our confidence, whether or not We will hold on to grace, whether or not we will by faith. Oh, bang. Whether or not we will do all of them. These things is up to us. And I can’t yeah. An answer for you. And you can answer for me, but we As Christians and as a congregation must decide independently and together that we will be faithful to him.

If you’re outside the body of Christ, you’re not faithful to him. You’re not even a child of his. If you Need to become a member of the body of Christ, you can do that. You can do that. Even during this holiday season, you can be immersed In water, permission of your sins. You Can hear the word of God and believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God.

Jesus said, except you believe I am. He, you will Die in your sins. You can confess his name, having repented of your sins, committing to changing your life, to match his word. And you can be immersed in water, dying to sin, dying to your old self and rising up to walk in newness of life. Part of that new and living way he writes about in Hebrews chapter 10,

you can do that. You too can live as seeing the promises that are yet unseen, knowing that God is faithful. And knowing also that our God is a consuming fire and you don’t want to be judged by him. If you’re a member of the body of Christ and you’ve turned your back on God, understand this, our God is a consuming fire and you don’t want to be judged by him.

But also we need to remember for those struggling, that there is opportunity to remain faithful, strengthen what’s weak, make straight paths before your feet to obey. God, make a plan to obey God and then fulfill that plan by removing sin and following obedience to God. I hope you have enjoyed the class. I hope it has been beneficial. I know there’s much more that could be said about Hebrews,

but I appreciate your time and your attention this evening hope everything is well with you. It is with our family and we pray that everything will go well with you throughout this week. And next week, as we’re apart from you, let’s conclude with a prayer, our gracious father in heaven, we bow before you grateful for this day for its blessings or all that you do for us every day,

we ask that you forgive us when we sin, give us your grace and your mercy each and every day. And may we do what is right in your sight. All this we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

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12-20-2020 – Sunday AM Sermon

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams, Sermons, The Book of Hebrews by Aaron Cozort

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<inaudible> Sorry.<inaudible> Okay. We should be working now. Note to self when fixing the problem that you don’t know what the issue is, don’t hit the wrong button because you may create far more problems than you had when, when You were just trying to fix the one problem you had. Yes, that’s fine. We can live without subtitles today. All right.

We are The book of Hebrews and we were going to get through chapter 10 and 11 this morning, but You know, I’m not sure we were ever going to get through chapter 10 and 11 this morning, but we were going to try, let’s begin with a word of prayer and then we’ll cover chapter 10 and then go through and cover the questions for nine and 10 as we Get started.

Dear heavenly father, we thank you for this day and its blessings. We thank you for all that you do for us on a daily basis. We thank you for your love and your care for your thing. The things that you do for us when we are struggling, the things you do for us, when we are blessed, we know we are always blessed by you.

We know that every good and perfect gift comes from above and we pray that we will continue to be thankful for all of those many wonderful things that you do. We pray that you be with families and loved ones and congregations that are dealing with losses as a result of COVID. And we pray that you will give them strength and comfort. During times of sorrow,

we pray that you will forgive us when we sin and fall short of your glory. All this, we pray in Jesus name. Amen, Amen. Hebrews chapter nine closes with, and as it is appointed men or for men to die once. So, or excuse me, I’m going to, I’m going to start over. It’s just not, that’s not working this morning.

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this, the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, to those who eagerly wait for him, he will appear a second time apart from sin, for salvation, for the law, having a shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things can never with these same sacrifices,

which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. There is in, in addition to what we said on Wednesday concerning the sacrifices current concerning what was offered under the old law, there was this constant looking for that better thing that better sacrifice because even those under old law, granted forgiveness, granted salvation, granted the things that God would give them through the law and through their obedience and through their re repentance and reconciliation to God,

they still gig NYSED that offering was insufficient. How many times do you read about situations where there’s multiplied offerings, multiplied co goats and calves that were offered by an individual for as if one wasn’t enough because they understood the depth of sin and the inability of an animal to pay for that sin. And so we read here that these things we’re offered year by year,

time, after time, over and over, because the sacrifice was in sufficient. And yet he says Christ died once two, four, then would they not have ceased to be offered? He says, if these sacrifices were perfect, if they took care of everything that the, the sacrifice of Christ did, then you wouldn’t have continued offer them time. After time,

after time, instead, they would have been offered once, like the sacrifice of Christ he said for then they would not, would they not then have ceased to be offered for the worshipers? Once purified would have had no more consciousness of sins, but in those sacrifices, there is a reminder of sins every year for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

Therefore, when he came into the world, he said, sacrifice and offering, you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me in burn offerings and sacrifices for sin. You had no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I have come in the volume of the book. It is written of me to do your will. Oh God.

Previously saying sacrifice and offering burn offerings and offerings for seeing you did not desire nor had pleasure in them, which are offered according to the law. Then he said, behold, I come to do your Willow God. He takes away the first that he may establish the second. Okay. This whole soul section right here is here as one continual thought, going back to the old Testament,

prophecy, bringing it forward, then explaining what it means. He says this statement was made to indicate that Christ was going to remove the first covenant. Not that he was extending it, not that he was tacking onto it and becoming a part of it, but that he was going to remove it and then replace it. He said, these things were written that the,

that he might take away the first that he might establish the second. All right. The significance of that to these Jewish Christians was if they were in the situation of being unable to, or being unwilling, to stay with Christ, then they were going back to a law that didn’t have any power anymore to a covenant. There was no longer in existence to a covenant that was no longer binding and had no ability to save them because it had been taken away.

They couldn’t go, you know what? It was good enough for us then. So it’s good enough for us now. Now they couldn’t do that because Christ came to fulfill the law, but also to abolish that law, that law being the law of Moses. So verse 10 by that, will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all,

okay. The Hebrew writer, instead of leaving them in a position of saying, well, you know, you’re, you’re in a, you’re in a rough spot. You’re you’re, you’re going to, you’re going to live without any sacrifice. You’re not going to have anything because the blood of bulls and goats won’t do it. And those sacrifices are taken away and back covenants taken away and that law is taken away.

Now you’ve got nothing. He says, no, no, no, no, no. The exact opposite. Now you have a sacrifice. That’s better. Now you have an offering that’s better under a covenant. That’s better under a law. That’s better add a demonstrates that your sanctification, your becoming Holy, your being set apart by God was done, was accomplished by the blood of Christ through the will of God.

So he says, then in verse 11, every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices. This is under the law. Moses every day the priest comes and he stands at the temple and he waits and he offers sacrifices. He does it over and over and over again, which can never take away sins. But this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for forever sat down at the right hand of God,

for those who would claim that Jesus Christ is not currently raining, that his kingdom does not currently exist. They have a real problem here because this says that he offered the sin, offered his blood for the sins. He offered the sacrifice for sins and having a complish that he sat down on his throne. He sat down at the right hand of God,

the father, and is raining right now. And that rain, that position, that power is part of the confidence we have in that salvation verse 13, from that time waiting til his enemies are made his footstool for, by one offering. He has perfected forever. Those who are being sanctified, but the Holy spirit also witnesses to us for after he had said before,

this is the covenant that I will make with them. After those days says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts and into their minds. I will write them. Then he adds their sins and lawless deeds. I will remember no more. This again is going back to Jeremiah now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin,

therefore brethren having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he consecrated for us through the veil that is his flesh and having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water drawing,

all the things that he said in chapter eight, chapter nine, chapter 10, drawing all of them forward to a conclusion he says, because that one sacrifice has been made one time forever. Now you and I, we sin. We fall short. We continually have to seek God’s forgiveness and repent for what we do wrong, but we don’t have to go find a new sacrifice.

We don’t go looking for a new atonement. We don’t go looking for a new sufficient sacrifice to cover our sin. We go back to the sacrifice over in first, John John describes it this way. He says that when we sin, the blood of Christ continues to cleanse us from the sin. The sin may happen again, but the blood doesn’t need the change.

We don’t need new blood. The blood was sufficient. It was us that needed the correction. And so the Hebrew writer is describing the power of the sacrifice. He says, now that we have this sacrifice before, when we have blood of bulls and goats, we had to go through our intermediary. We had to go through the high priests and even the high priest had to offer sacrifices for himself before he could enter the holiest.

Okay. Remember, we were talking about the tabernacle on Wednesday and we described the two portions of the tabernacle, the holiest of Holies, where the Ark of the covenant was. And then the Holy place, the main area where the priest went in every day. He said, before you, as, as a, as an Israel, I couldn’t even enter the Holy place.

Only the priest could, but the whole, the priest couldn’t enter the holiest of Holies till they offered a sacrifice for themselves. And then they could only do it once per year. He says now under the new covenant, under the new sacrifice, with a new mediator, he says, we have boldness to enter the holiest. The holiest here, the way he’s using that term is the Holy of Holies.

Okay. The holiest place. So he says, we now have the ability to enter into the presence of God because of the sacrifice of Christ. And we can do that. Not as the high priest entered the Holy place under the old law, the high priest actually add a garment that he wore on the day of atonement. And that garment had bells on the bottom of it.

Part of the reason for the bells was it’s described there. The idea you didn’t enter in to the holiest of Holies without being announced. Think about it. This, from this perspective, you have a King King sits on a throne. He’s sitting in his throne room and someone wants to come in to see the King. What do you generally have? Who waits at the door of the throne room?

You have the person who not only says whether or not you’re allowed to go in, but he also announces you first. You don’t enter into the presence of a King unless you’re announced first and yet. Now the Hebrew writer says we don’t only have the ability to enter the presence of God as those Israelites did through a high priest. Once per year, he says,

we now have boldness as Ziv, we’re a family member of the King to walk into his presence at any time, not once a year at any time to come into his presence as if we were his son, you see the laws and the rules for being announced were Pete, for people who weren’t part of the King’s family, it was often a, a different set of rules for a King’s children for a King’s family member for a King’s son.

And so here we have a different arrangement. We’ve got a different relationship that exists because of the blood of Christ, but he says this boldness, this access comes by a new and living way, which he consecrated, which he set apart, which he made Holy for us through the veil. That is his flesh. Under the old Testament, there was a veil in between the holiest of Holies in the tabernacle and the Holy place.

They could go in and out of the Holy place all throughout the year, but that veil separated them. And now the Hebrew writer says that veil was a type. It was a looking forward to the flesh of Christ. Interestingly, you remember when Christ died, when Christ said it is finished, gave up the ghost, a number of things occurred. The sun was darkened.

The earth shook graves were opened, but what else happened? The veil in the temple was rent. It was torn into from the bottom of the top or from the top to the bottom top to bottom. There’s a type apology here. And there’s a picture that God brought into physical form saying separation of me from my people is gone. They now have access because he died.

They now have boldness because he died and we have access to the throne of God continually. This goes back to chapter four. This isn’t the first time he said this. He’s just drawing in more of these types of Anna types. More of the picture. He says, verse 14, seeing then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus,

the son of God, let us hold fast. Our confession for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points, tempted like as we are yet without sin, let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. So he said this before this isn’t new,

he’s not just introducing the idea. He’s giving you a more clear picture of the atonement that is found in Christ. Okay? So then he says, verse 21 and having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

He, again, he’s pulling together these pictures from the old Testament when Moses and Aaron sanctified the people of God, when they instituted the first tabernacle, when they offered the first sacrifices on that first day of consecration, they took the blood of a sacrifice and sprinkled it on the altar and on the sacrifices and on the people, they consecrated them ceremonially with this sprinkling of blood.

Now he’s using the figure and saying your heart, your conscience, your inward person, where the blood of the old Testament could come, could cleanse and consecrate the outward person. This sacrifice the blood of Christ cleanses the inward person. He said, your hearts have been sprinkled from an evil conscience and your bodies washed with pure water. Again, going back to the old Testament picture of the tabernacle worship.

When those high priests were to offer those sacrifices, when they were to enter into the Holy place, they first had to wash in that brazen Laver, okay. Before they could enter into the Holy place they had to wash you couldn’t go into the Holy place unless you washed. Well, now he says we have been given a washing and yet isn’t it interesting.

He describes the washing to be physical and the cleansing to be spiritual turn over to first Peter chapter three<inaudible> First Peter chapter three, verse 21. There is also an anti-tech, which now saves us baptism, not the removal of the field of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The same idea is carried forward.

In first, Peter chapter three, that baptism is the washing in which our inward person is washed. Even though the act is an outward act. In other words, it’s something our physical bodies do, but it is not as Peter’s describing, it’s not about washing off dirt. It’s not about washing away, filth on your body. It is about your heart.

And so here you have one of those passages where baptism in its anti type form is described as being directly connected to the blood of Christ. Verse 23, let us hold fast. The confession, that is the proclamation of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,

not getting the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another and so much. The more as you see the day approaching as the Hebrew writer reminds them of these things. He’s not telling them for the very first time that they’re supposed to assemble together. And he’s not telling them for the very first time that they’re supposed to be immersed in water for the remission of sins.

They’ve already done that. He’s reminding them of what it was they did. And he’s reminding them of what is so important about their association and fellowship with one another. He says, as you go through these struggles, as you go through these difficulties, the one thing that you don’t stop doing is assembling with one another because it is there that you provoke one another to love and good works.

Now it’s important to note that the first staking here is not the absence of a single time. It is the turning away from it. This is not a passage that describes, you know what, someone’s sick and they didn’t show up at church today. They’re forsaking the assembling. No, that’s not it. This is the turning no way from in turning away from Christ.

He says, when you are struggling, that is not the time to turn away from the assembly. That is not the time to turn your back on the, the assembly. That is the time to turn to the assembly and be there so many times when times are hard. When difficulties come, when hardships come into our lives, we go, you know what?

I just don’t have. I just don’t have the energy, the stamina that to get up, get dressed and get to worship. That is exactly the time where you need to get up, get dressed and go, go to worship because that’s when you need it. The most that’s when God says, listen, this time is especially for you right at that moment where you can be assembling with one another where you can be provoked to love and good works,

where you can have others. Look, look at you and care for you. It’s the moment when you say All right, I need this. And I know that when I come home, I’m going to be better than when I left, but it also Involves this other aspect. And that is us looking past ourselves. The one who comes to the assembly,

looking to better themselves, looking to be looked upon by others, looking to be encouraged by others, looking to be exhorted by others and never gives any Lot to anyone else is failing in their duties. In the assembly. Part of the, The Frank reality is it is by us assembling together and losing our focus on ourselves and putting our focus on someone else that we,

We find we get helped by helping others. So we need to be thoughtful in our approach Assemblies, not only to look for those who are struggling and encourage those who are struggling, but also to set aside our worries, our struggles, our difficulties Look to help others. Okay? Now in Verse 26, he’s not changing Topics. Here He is. He has gone through a discussion of the sacrifice.

He has gone through the discussion of the priesthood. He has gone through the discussion of the law. He has gone through the discussion of the T of the covenant. He has gone through all of these things. And now he’s about to give them a very Stark warning. All the passages in the book of Hebrews that are the most direct in warning these people about what they’re about to do verse 13 or verse 26 of chapter 10,

Is that passage He says for, if we sin Willfully, now this is not Connect Textually. This is not talking about, I know it’s wrong to lie. And I just told a lie That’s that is not the context here. Okay? The context is, I know I should not foresee Christ and his assembly, but I am going to choose to turn my back on him.

I am going to Context is I am going to return to the law of Moses and to Moses and to Judaism and for say Christ. That is the context, the departure from Christianity and obedience To Christ. That’s the willful sin being described here for if we sin willfully, after we have received the knowledge of the truth. So notice it’s a departure from the truth.

There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. This is you walk away from Christ and what are you walking to? You’re not going to walk back to the blood of bulls and goats. They’re no longer a sacrifice for sins. You can’t go back to that. We’ve shown you. He took it away. So you walk away from the only sacrifice and you walk to no sacrifice for sins,

but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation, which will devour the adversaries notice. He just said, you walk away from Christ. You become an adversary of God because that’s, that’s who that judgements for. He said, you just walked into a judgment meant for adversaries, which meant you just became an adversary. Remember back in revelation, as we were going through those chapters,

two and three, where he writes to the church and one of the churches, he says, you repent or I’ll make war with you. God considers those who forsake him, who turned their back on him, who go back to the world. After they know the truth, to be his enemies. Notice he says anyone who has rejected Moses’s law does or dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

By the way, he’s pointing out this isn’t unusual. We shouldn’t think this is strange. If you violate the law under the law of Moses and two people testify against you in a court of law, you’re going to be put to death. But then he says of how much worse punishment do you suppose, will he be thought worthy? Who has trampled?

The son of God under foot counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing and insulted the spirit of grace. So you need to get right in your mind about what it is to me, what it means to depart from Christianity. Once you’ve become a Christian, he said, you have trodden under foot. The son of God,

you have said that sacrifice on that cross is completely value lists to me. What did Jesus describes? Salt? W w what did he say would happen to salt that had lost its value, lost its flavor. It was good for nothing good to be cast out and trodden under foot of men. He says the Christian who departs from Christianity. That’s what they’ve done to the son of God.

That’s how they view the son of God, or at least that’s how God views it. But he also says you’ve counted the blood of the covenant as on Holy use it that now that wasn’t any, anything special, this idea is profane or common. The various two, two of the very first priests, two of the sons of Aaron, when they were brought,

bringing the fire to the, to the altar were struck down by God. And the accusation God made is they didn’t put a difference between was common and what was Holy. And so here, he says, you’ve taken the blood of Christ, which is Holy. And you’ve treated it as if it’s common, just like anybody else’s blood, but also says,

and you have despised the spirit or insulted the spirit of grace for we know him who said, vengeance is mine. I will repay says the Lord. And again, the Lord will judge his people. He says, we were told this in the old Testament, God said, he’s going to judge. And God said, he judged under that law. And he’s certainly going to judge her under this law verse 31.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living. God. Then he says, verse 32. We’ll read down through verse 39, but recall, okay. Okay. Said this, he’s put forth the warning. He said, listen, you don’t want to fall into the hands of your God. And then he immediately reverses not goes back on what he says,

but reverses his tone and say, says, but remember, we’ve been through this before. He says, remember, recall the former days in which after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings. She’s remember when you were first converted, when you first became a Christian, when you first saw the light, there’s the illuminated idea. He said,

how you suffered and you did so willingly. You went through a great fight flight of afflictions. These is partly whilst you were made a spectacle, both by reproaches and tribulations. And partly while you became companions of those who were so treated for you had compassion on me and my chains and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven,

he says, do you remember back when you were first converted and you did all of these things you’re being asked to do now, now, and you did enjoy fully, you did it willingly. You did it without a second thought because of the salvation. When you had available and heaven, he says, therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward,

or you have need of endurance so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. Now he goes back to the old Testament. He says for yet a little while, and he who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith. But if anyone draws back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

He goes back to Habakkuk where Habakkuk is questioning how God’s going to use the Babylonian armies to defeat Israel, to defeat Judah and punish this people who are better than the Babylonians were. And God said the just will live by faith. The just will endure. I will protect the, just, but the wicked I’m going to punish. He says, verse 39.

As he closes this, what we have is this chapter. He says, but we are not notice again, as he’s done before with the led us. And he includes himself, he says, but we, you and me, all Christians, he says, but we are not of those who draw back to perdition. But of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

Now he’s going to make this statement about belief, about faith, to lead them into a whole long discussion of faith. So he said this, and we’ll leave it here. We’re going to kind of summarize chapter 11 as we start class on Wednesday, which will be done virtually, but he says, we do not draw back. We don’t go backwards.

We don’t go back to the old law. We keep our faith and obey God. And that is all of chapter 11, looking forward to chapter 12. Okay, let’s go over these questions for chapters nine and 10. What kind of sacrifices were offered under the law? Moses, lot of bulls and goats, gifts and sacrifices. Either one of those would be fine.

How often was it necessary to offer sacrifices continually year by year? Why was it necessary to offer sacrifices often? All right. Because they could never make one. Perfect. Is, is there is the, the text answer can never make one. Perfect. What kind of sacrifice was offered under Jesus’ law? His own blood. How often is it necessary to offer sacrifices?

Once, when does a covenant come into force? Yep. We went when the person whose covenant is dies, how was the first covenant put into force?<inaudible> Yeah. Sprinkling of blood or the blood of bulls and goats. What about the second? Okay. Blood of blood of Jesus. The law of Moses is spoken of as a blank of the good things to come Shadow.

Jesus’ flesh is the blank. The veil. Does God remember forgiven sins? No. That’s a discussion. We’ll have to get into some time. Yes or no. Does God require Christ followers to assemble? Yes. What is God’s punishment for those who neglect Christ and his blood Say what Fearful judgment fire, vengeance, all, all of those are, are applicable in good answers.

So, all right. We will have, I think I am correct in announcing this. Okay. I’m correct. In announcing this because I will be gone. A number of actually a number of people will be out. What we will be doing is we will have our services on our Bible study on Wednesday online, the zoom will be available. The live stream will be available,

but there won’t be anybody here. Okay. So make note of that for Wednesday, we’ll make sure everybody has what they need to get connected to that, but we’ll go over the end of Hebrews then. And then Sunday, since I will be out of town, Michael will be filling in and we’ll start a review of Jesus going into lessons on the second year of Jesus’ ministry,

starting the next Wednesday. So thank you for your attention. And you are dismissed<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Her. Name’s good to see everyone here today where happy to see you. And I know the re those that are watching online. I think we’ve got a lot of folks out today for the holidays. So it’s kinda unusual to see as few as we have here today,

but we’re glad that we’re able to come and be together and worship God together today and have Bible study. Aaron did a wonderful job this morning, and we miss all of you that are, haven’t been able to be with us for a while. And some others aren’t feeling well. So we want to continue to pray for these. We have a few announcements we want to make,

hopefully everyone remembered to get the Lord’s supper at the back. We just wanted to remind you of that or continue to pray for Joan Springer. Maria said she’s doing some better has good days and bad days though. And still not able to gain much weight at all, if any, and sometimes loses a few pounds. So keep, keep her in your prayers.

I also, Robin woods, we want to continue to pray for Robin and Jessica. Dale is still having problems. It’s talking to Michael and we want to continue to pray for Jessica, that they can determine what’s actually taking place with her and hopefully find out what it is and relieve her of all of that discomfort she’s experiencing Janie Marlin is, is doing well with her surgery on her knee.

She’s still having some nausea from some of the medications that she’s having to take. So keep her in your prayers. Also remember Dorothy Wilson still waiting at home, her stress test results. And I’m not sure why it’s taken them so long to find that out, but we want to keep her in your prayers. Also Rodale, they’ve been experiencing a lot of sorrow in their family and the loss of Rodale’s brother and his wife,

Leah van Cleve that’s and also Jessica hobby, hob D both of these are nieces of Becky Posner. Both of them have COVID and we certainly want to remember them and hope that they will be able to be treated for that. And everything will go alright with them. Jan, his dad is back at home and under hospice care. So they are back,

but they’re staying at home just in case they were around anyone that might’ve been affected with the virus. So keep them in your prayers. And then Cheryl’s dad who, who fell and has a fracture in his spine. He, he had his having to wear a back brace, but he is at home. And still, I know that he has good days and bad days.

So keep, keep him in your prayers. And also Aaron’s dad, Keith Cozort had surgery Friday for heart blockage. He had two stents put in and he is at home now. So we want to continue to pray for him that everything will be go hard with him. Elaina sharp, that Shelly Stax mother has double pneumonia, and she has a real bad infection on the,

on the back of her head. And we certainly were want to remember her and our prayers, that they were able to be able to help get her over that pneumonia and get that healed up. So probably in real serious condition though, and she’s in a Methodist hospital, our sympathy to the Wilson family and the loss of Rodale’s well already announced that his brother and his wife Demple.

So we weren’t at one other announcement. We will not meet at the building for service Wednesday for class, but it will be virtual. So don’t forget to tune in and be studying Hebrews chapter 11. So keep that in, in your Mark that down on your calendar, be sure and tune in for that. I believe that saw the announcements I had,

hopefully I didn’t overlook any. I do have one other thing I want to mention to you, Aaron and Eddie and the boys will be leaving tomorrow to go to Missouri and they’ll be gone for about a week. And so we want to remember them in our prayers that everything would go well for them. And we don’t want to, we do want to wish everyone,

a Merry Christmas and hope we will all have a safe holiday since we probably won’t see each other personally clean now. And next Lord’s day, this morning, Michael Dale will be leading our song service. Eric Halverson we’ll have our opening prayer. Mari Phillips will be taking care of the Lord’s table. Aaron Cozort would be bringing us the lesson. And then Jay Shafir we’ll have our closing prayer First song.

This morning will be number 31 and be still and know be still and know<inaudible> That. Ah,<inaudible><inaudible> the<inaudible> that, ah,<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> the<inaudible><inaudible> As long before our opening prayer, excuse me, will be number 797. Lord we come before the now<inaudible><inaudible> Oh,<inaudible><inaudible> we see the Lord<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> to see<inaudible> to<inaudible> and I know<inaudible> no,

we see<inaudible> we<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> the<inaudible> GRA. Oh man,<inaudible> fun. The God<inaudible><inaudible> free.<inaudible> the<inaudible> Please bow with me. God, our father in heaven, we come to you this morning, thanking you for another day here on earth and thanking you for the opportunity to be able to assemble here together, to fellowship with one another sing songs of praise to your name and study a portion of your word Lord.

There were numerous individuals listed on our sick list this morning. And we ask if it’d be your, will you wrap your loving arms around each and every one of them and provide them with the comfort that they need while they battle the individual needs to retain regain their health. And if it be your will provide them the means and the opportunity to regain their health so that they may come again to worship you.

But most importantly, to serve you, God, we also know that there are many amongst our number that are suffering from various ailments and illnesses that have not been mentioned. And we asked the same for them that you wrap your loving arms around them and around the caretakers and the providers, caregivers, and providers for these individuals that they may seek your knowledge and your wisdom and your patients and their times as they struggled to deal with providing help to them.

God, we also know that because of the holiday season, there are many amongst us. That’d be traveling. We asked that you provide safe journey for those that will travel to their destinations and return to their homes. And God, we also want to thank you for having sent your son Jesus here on earth years ago to teach us, but most importantly,

to die for our sins and to save us, give us that opportunity to one day, live with you forever in heaven in eternity, Lord, we also know that each and every one of us have our faults and have our shortcomings. And when we bring those shortcomings to you, we ask that you help us to deal with these shortcomings and prevent from doing them again.

But most importantly, forgive us, although shortcomings that we may serve you better as we live here on earth and wait for that day that we join you eternally in heaven. And now as brother Aaron prepares to bring us another portion of your word, we ask that you help each and every one of us listen intently and analyze it and see how we can use the word that he’s going to bring us your word to enlighten our lives,

to serve you better. But most importantly, to reach out to those that have either fallen away from your love, or have not had the opportunity to hear your word and understand your love so that they may one day have the same opportunity we do. And that is to live with you forever. In eternity. We pray all these things through your son,

Jesus name, amen. Long to prepare our minds for the Lord’s supper will be number 366 by Christ redeemed by Christ three<inaudible>. We keep the us<inaudible> and show the<inaudible> and to he<inaudible> his body given<inaudible><inaudible>. And as we drink, we see blah, and<inaudible> he? Oh, and that me Trey<inaudible> ah, with advent, we NA my wan bride chain me it,

and he<inaudible> At this time, we need to focus on the cross and the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sins. Let’s pray. Heavenly father, we’re thankful for this bread represent Jesus’ body was nailed to the cross for the sins of mankind. Pray heavenly father, you please forgive us of our sins. Amen. Like manner, heavenly father. We’re thankful for this fruit of the vine.

It represents Jesus blood that was shed on this cross for our sins. Let’s pray. Heavenly father that you please forgive us of our sins. Also, this we ask in Jesus name, amen. Separate from the Lord’s table. We’d have an opportunity to give his we as prosper. Let’s pray. Heavenly father. We’re thankful for the financial gains we have received from you through the years,

and we pray heavenly father you’ll accept proportion back to you in order to keep the church you’re at Collierville and doing the job that we’re doing here and help us having father be prosperous. This we ask in Jesus name. Amen. As long before the lesson this morning will be number 555. Siki first. If you’re able to stand for this song, Please,

number 555, okay. Siki first, the kingdom of God and<inaudible> and all these things shall be added unto you seeing, ah,<inaudible> scanned. It shall be given unto you C and G shall ah, knock, and the door be opened unto you singing. Ah,<inaudible> man shall not live by bread alone, but<inaudible> pro seeds from God seeing,

ah,<inaudible> you may be seated. Good morning. Sometimes I’m asked a question. I imagine you are too. When it comes around the time of the holidays or birthdays, someone will come up to you and ask, what do you want? Can you make a list? What do you want for Christmas? What do you want for your birthday? What sweetheart?

What do you want for your anniversary? That one probably shouldn’t be asked, but the others, what do you want? There’s nothing wrong with that question. It’s simply an expression of one person trying to do for another person and give to another person what it is that they actually want. But as we examine our lesson this morning, I want to notice what we should want and how to get it.

Not in view of Christmas or birthdays or any other holiday or gift exchanging time of the year. But in view of our lives, collagen’s chapter three, Paul writes to the church at Colossi, as he writes to these brethren in Colossians chapter three and verse one, we read if then you were raised with Christ, seek those things, which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God,

set your mind On things above, not on things, Things on the earth. Sometimes it’s In view of the previous discussion in the previous question of what do you want the answer is, I don’t know. And usually that’s because we haven’t been thinking about it. If we stopped for a while and thought about it, we could come up with one or two things that we want,

whether we could afford them or not, that would be a completely different discussion, but some things that we Want, sometimes It may be basic. Sometimes it may be symbol. Sometimes it may just be, you know what? I want that meal. I just really enjoy that meal, whatever that is. But notice that when the Paul writes to the church at glossies is first of all,

seek those things that are above. But then he also says set your mind on the things above, be thinking about it. When we consider what it is as Christians that we really want, are we giving in our lives? Any thoughts To eternity As we go through our daily lives, as we examine what it is that we do on a daily basis,

what part of our day, what part of our life, what part of our decision making process depends entirely upon the time we spend Thinking about eternity, okay. Thinking about spiritual things. So he says, first of all, seek those things, which are above. Second of all, he says, set your mind on things that are above. But thirdly,

he says for you died. I don’t know if you know that if you’re a Christian, you do know that, but Paul just comes right out and says for you died And your life is hidden with Christ in God. The moment a person comes forward In their heart and in their mind and makes the decision I’m going to change. They’ve heard the word of God.

They’ve heard the gospel and they know it’s true. They know that Jesus Christ came to this earth. They know that he bled. They know that he died. They know that he went to that cross and they know why they know he died for their iniquity, for their sin, for their unrighteousness. And they know That he didn’t stay dead. Instead on third day,

he arose from that grave. He walked out of that tomb and ultimately he ascended back into the back to the father and that he is there right now. Now, as this passage describes sitting at the right hand of God and they know those things, They have heard and believe those things. And as a result of that, they have looked at what he told them to do.

They have Looked at their lives and they have looked at the word of God and they have looked at scripture and they’ve examined their lives against the mirror We’re of the soul. And they have found they don’t match. And so they have looked at those things and said, I have to change that. They know what he said, they’ve heard it. They believe it.

They know they have to change. And they Also know that above everything else. They want to serve him, go to Matthew chapter six, Matthew chapter six, as Jesus is giving the sermon on the Mount. He references possessions. And he says, beginning in verse 19, do not lay up for yourselves, treasures on earth, where Moth and rust destroy,

where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves, treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys where thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasure is there. Your heart will be also notice Jesus begins first with possessions. He begins first with what it is that you find Valuable. It really comes back to this question of what do you want?

And if when asked that question, the only thing you can find as an answer is this possession, that possession, this thing, that thing, this goal, that goal, this attainment, that attainment this job, that job, that If that’s all you want, Jesus said, you’ve set your treasure on things that are below you Set your treasure on things that are part of this earth.

You’ve set your treasure on things which will not last. And ultimately some ELLs we’ll take from you. You say, well, I’m going to, I’m going to protect what I have and I’m going to own a lot of firearms and I’m going to make sure and ensure everything. And I’m going to make sure to take precautions. I’m going to make sure no one gets my Stuff except solid And pointed out in Ecclesiastes.

These that one of these days you’re going to Die and Everything you’ve accumulated. I had accumulated a lot was going to be left to somebody else. All ultimately, no matter how much stuff it is, you’re leaving this life without it. They are now trying and have been For a number of years to figure out how to migrate someone’s consciousness from their body into a computer system.

So that that person can continue to live. Why? Because people are dead set on never leaving this temporary, The place. But Jesus said Where your treasure is there. Your heart will be also, but he doesn’t end there. He says, the lamp of the body is the Eye. If Therefore your eye is good, your whole body Will be full of light.

There, there are times where The way this is described and the way this is stated, it doesn’t really translate. But all the light, you experience All The light that you see, You don’t see, See it through your hand. You don’t see it through your foot. You see it through one little Part of your body and that’s your eye. And anyone who has ever had eye trouble can tell you That when your eyes start giving you problems,

it affects you In significant ways. When your eye stops sensing light, properly or stops, communicating that light properly to, to your, the rest of your body. You have difficulties in your entire body. Jesus said The light of the body, the Eye, If then your eye is good. Your whole body is full of light. But, But if your eye is bad,

your whole body will be full, Full of darkness. If your eyes stop seeing light, Not another appendage, you can rely on to solve the problem. There’s not another part of the body you can go to and say, can you just take over the duty of the eyes? They’re not working anymore? And while it is certainly true for those who,

who experienced blindness that over time, their other senses enhance themselves to make up for it. The reality is they don’t replace the eyes. He says, If your eye is bad, your whole body is full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness. How great is That darkness? Now imagine your eyes work Just fine. And hopefully they do.

But imagine the only thing day in and day out that you put your eyes to doing that you set before them are things you want. Possessions. Yeah. You want stated that during this time of year, beginning about three weeks ago, Jordy have employees at their jobs get very little accomplished As it Were. They checkout for about six weeks, starting in the beginning of December and going all the way till about the beginning of the first of the year.

Maybe a few weeks after they just don’t really get anything done for some employees. It’s because they’re spending more time shopping on their computer than working on their computer. Okay? But imagine if that’s your whole year, imagine if that’s your whole life, everything every day is about the next thing Want Jesus said your eye has turned to only allowing in darkness because all you’re focused on are possessions.

He says, you cannot verse 24, serve two masters for either. He will hate the one and love the other, Or LT will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God, God, and mammon or possessions money. Therefore I say to you do not worry about your life. What you do, You will eat or what you will drink nor about your body.

What you will put on is not life more than food and the body more than clothing. Look at the birds of the air for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they, Jesus focuses on this problem. He focuses on the problem where is looking at what it is they want and failing to trust God to provide They’re looking at what it is they need.

They’re looking at what it is to go on through this life day in and day out. And instead of looking to God to give what, give them what they want. They’re looking to themselves To provide it. Someone has suggested that if you’re going to ask God for a garden, you should do it with a hole in your hand. And that’s true.

You should not expect God to miraculously appear before you everything you need, nor is that what Jesus is Teaching here. But Instead his discussion is about where your heart is. Is your heart set every day on the next days, possessions, the next days things, the next day is food. The next day is Raymond. And the things you need to subsist in this life,

or is your heart set Bet on God. But notice his addressing of this is not, God has the ability to do this. He does not say God is able. He says, God cares more for you than for the birds of the air that he already does it for. He doesn’t go to a discussion of God’s abilities as a pure abstract. He goes to God’s relationship To his children.

He goes on to say, which of you By worrying can add one cubit to his stature? How many times? Times I can’t, I can’t count them. How many times that I, As, as any pretty much that I know of any male growing up that is shorter than most of the other people. They know. How many times do they go to the,

the, the tape measure? Alright, am I taller? Am I taller? They scooch up on Their toes just a little bit. Especially if you had brothers That were all taller than you and they, And you’re like, you know, I, one of these days, I am going to be six feet tall. One of these days, I just know it.

I’ve got an uncle who’s over six feet tall. My dad’s six feet tall. I’m going to be six. I am not Six feet tall. And Do you know how much I can change that? Not at all. I mean, I wear cowboy boots all day long and I measure up to six feet doll, but I can not chain My stature.

Jesus said, How many of you by worrying, By Giving thought care, concern and focus of mind can change your stature, Not one inch. But then he goes on to say, so why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. And yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed.

One of these. Now, If God, so clothes, the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven. Will he not much more clothe you? Oh, ye of little faith. Jesus says, as we look at our lives and yeah, If we turn our hearts, minds, focus and Tension to possessions and naughty eternity,

too Worrying and having anxiety About possessions and not eternity, he said, we have lost our grip on reality. We have lost Our grip on what truly matters. We have lost our faith in God, therefore verse 31, do not worry saying, what shall we eat Or what shall we drink? Or what shall we wear now? Did he say, do not Work?

No Jesus in, in no way, shape or form in this passage is accusing these Jews or his disciples of being those who should stop working. He said, they should stop worrying. They should stop their anxiety. They should stop their care and concern and focus as this being the highest priority For after all these things, the Gentiles seek for your Heavenly father knows that you Need these things.

As he did Dresses their care and concerns as he addresses their heart, as he addresses their eyes, as he addresses their minds and their focus, he reminds That they belong to a father who knew What they needed before They ever stepped foot on his earth. And he knows how to provide, but seek first, but seek First, the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.

Therefore he says, do not worry About tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about its own things sufficient for the day is its own trouble. So what do you want and how do you get it? First of all, we need to be certain about The things that should not be on the List. Rich Should not be on the list. You can go read in first Timothy chapter six,

beginning in verse five, going down through verse nine about all the things that come with riches is that to say that a person who’s rich has somehow done wrong is living in a state of sin. No, that’s not it to say. That would be to accuse those like Abraham and David and many others in the old Testament who were rich, but whose focus was never on rich Is the Hebrew writer and Hebrews chapter 13,

as he writes to these, Christians says, Let your conduct be without Covetousness, be, Be content with such things as you have For he Himself has said, I will never leave you Nor forsake you. The person whose focus and dependency and heart and mind is set on riches. Is there because of insecurity, do we realize that the person, Person who’s striving every day,

day in and day out for more Stuff only does. So because of in security, Because they do not value What they already have. They only value what They do not yet have. And yet when they get it, it is of no value. And yet they will not stop and realize what they’re doing to themselves. So the Hebrew writer says, be content with what you have and why,

how can we Do it? How can we have that mindset? He says, because your father said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. There’s times that I don’t feel as though that’s true. There’s times even this almost writer express there’s times where it seems as though you’re far from me. It seems as though you will, you will not do what I asked you.

It seems as though you’re not dealing with the situation and yet TRIBErs writer continues. And he says, so we may boldly say, Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me, remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.

He says, pay attention to those who taught you, pay attention to those who you’ve learned from pay attention to their actions when they endure difficulty and follow them. And here’s why you can verse eight. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. When Jesus is a Rose from the dead and came back into the presence of the apostles, they were locked in a room assembling by themselves.

They were afraid of the government. They were afraid of the people. They were afraid of them. Those who not too long ago had, had laid Palm leaves down on the road and cried out Hosanna Hosanna. And yet short time later had cried, crucify him, crucify him And Jesus came into their midst and said, Oh, ye of little faith.

They had been told what he was going to do. They had been told what was going to happen, but in the midst of their Care and concern for The things of this life, they had missed the importance of the things pertaining to that life. We need to be those who, first of all, do not set our hearts and minds on riches,

but certainly do not set our hearts and on Sinful pleasures. But instead on eternity, we need to understand that there are things have more value than riches. Proverbs chapter eight, verse 11 describes wisdom to be of more value than rubies. We are to be those who understand that knowledge and understanding are things that we are to want things we are to strive for things we are to study,

to attain and give diligence to attain because knowledge and understanding are those things that can correct our lives. Turn to second Peter chapter one, as we examine and answer what it is that we want and how to get it. Peter writes to these Christians and he says beginning in verse one, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us, by the righteousness of our God and savior Jesus Christ,

grace, and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus, our Lord, he said, first and foremost, may you have grace and peace. You need those. And they’re found in one place, the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ, but he then goes on and says, as his divine power has given to us, all things that pertain to life and godliness,

he said, in the knowledge of him, he has given you everything you need that pertains to life right now. And obedience to him through the knowledge of him who called you to glory and or by glory and virtue by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises. Not only has gone told you what he’s done for you. Not only has God told you what you need to do.

Not only has God given you everything you need to do what he said do, he’s also promised you what will happen when you do it, that through these, you may be partakers of the divine nature. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. So what do you want? And does it originate with your knowledge of God and your Lord,

Jesus Christ, but how do you get it? Peter goes on to say for this reason, give all diligence to add to your faith virtue and to your virtue knowledge and to knowledge, self control, and to sell control Perseverance and to perseverance godliness and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly, kindness, love for if these things are yours, if those are the things you want,

and those are the things you work for, and those are the things you attain. He said for, if these things are yours and a bound, you will neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ for he who lacks these things is short-sighted even to blindness and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore,

brethren be even more diligent to make your call and election. Sure. For if you do these things you will never stumble for. So an entrance will be supplying to you, abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. What do you want? If what you want is entrance into the kingdom of God and an internal abode with him.

Then Peter has just told you how to get it, have your sins washed away through the gospel and obedience to it, and then add to your faith. Virtue, knowledge, perseverance, godliness, brotherly, kindness, and love, and rinse and repeat. And when you do, you will have everything you’ve ever wanted, not a pie in the sky.

Promise if what you want is what Jesus said. And that is to seek first, the kingdom of heaven and his righteousness. If you have need of the invitation, the invitation is open for you now together as we stand and as we sing, Geez, what can make me whole again? Nothing but the bla jeez, us. Oh,<inaudible> that makes<inaudible> no,<inaudible> no nothing but blah,

jeez, for my iPod on their side, I see nothing but a bla jeez, for my cleansing, this my plea, nothing but<inaudible> Oh,<inaudible> nah, man makes me<inaudible>. No, the found time. No, nothing but blah. Jeez, us nothing can.<inaudible> nothing but blah. Jeez, not good that I have done nothing but blah G she sees us.

Oh, precious is fuck. Nah, it makes me<inaudible>. No, the fam time. No, nothing but blah G sees us the song before the closing prayer will be number 626 Christ for the world. We seen Christ for the wo. We see the world to CRA nice. We Bree<inaudible><inaudible> that boy, the thing<inaudible> Christ<inaudible> Christ<inaudible> we see the woe to CRA nice.

We Bri. Oh man. No way.<inaudible> a loss by<inaudible> passions, task three genes.<inaudible> formed.<inaudible><inaudible> we see the woe to CRA nice. We Bree with one<inaudible> to share with us three pro Scouts to jam with us.<inaudible> for Christ Heavenly father. We’re indeed grateful for the privilege we’ve had to assemble and worship this hour.

We pray that our worship to you has been in spirit and truth and a sweet saver. As we prepare to depart, we’re mindful of those that are unable to be with us today. We pray your healing hands be placed upon them. And that they, once again, may return to their much wanted place. Be with those that are in harm’s way,

serving our country, grant them peace and reassurance at this special time of year, when families tend to get together, let them know that there are cared for, and that they have that hope of coming home. Soon as we go to prepare them for this special season, grant us an idea of oneness of helping one another, see the light and to be comforted by the fact that we’re just pilgrims here,

that our true homes need to be pointed toward heaven. Also, father, we fall short of our goals. Many times as we sin, we pray, you will forgive those sins, a repent and turn from them. Go with us. Now, as we depart, bless each of us with The blessings of knowing that we’re held in the hollow of your hand,

it’s in Jesus name, we pray.

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12-16-2020 – Hebrews 9-10 (Class)

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams, The Book of Hebrews by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> It’s about time for us to get started. Anybody thinks that based upon Sunday morning, how I made it to the end of chapter eight, that means that I’m going to make it to the end of chapter 10. Tonight you are sorely mistaken. It is not going to happen. All right, Let’s begin with, with a word of prayer.

So we get started our gracious father in heaven. We come before you so incredibly grateful for all of our many blessings, the blessings that we have had within this congregation, within our families and our homes within this city that we live in and this community that we’re a part of, we pray that you will be with those who have struggles, adversities, difficulties,

pray, especially for those who struggle at times with sin and all of us do in our own times in our own places, we pray that we might have willingness to open your word, to find the strength and the direction, the guidance that we need to correct our lives to live in accordance with your will. We pray that you will be with us as we go throughout this period of study,

may this time we spend be spent in a beneficial way and in accordance with your will and may all that we do and say, bring us closer to you. We ask that you forgive us when we sin and fall short of your glory and all this, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. We’ll go over the questions from Hebrews seven and eight. Yeah.

As we get started by way of review question number one, how much, and if anybody’s missing this, these set of questions, they’re over on the, on the side here. How much did Abraham give Mel kids a deck, a 10th or a tie? How much were the people to give the priests a 10th aura time, by the way, any commandment in the new Testament to Thai?

Nope. Number two. Yes or no. Was it necessary to change the law of Moses when the priesthood was changed?<inaudible> Yes, you could. We talked about that on Sunday. You could not separate the priesthood and the law. If you changed the priesthood, you had to change the law. If you change the law, you had to change the priesthood name,

the TRIBE from which Jesus descended Judah. Yes or no. Under the law of Moses. Were there priests among the tribe of Judah? No, there weren’t. By what power then did Jesus become a priest by the, the, Okay. Yeah. The, the, an interesting point in that, the text specifically in verse 16, he was, he was made a priest after the order of milk is that,

but by the power of an endless life, is there at the end of verse 16, which is part of the argumentation about, you know, with, with the priesthood of the Levi’s it’s every time you turned around, every generation one died. Okay. Versus Christ who was alive forever. What things did the law of Moses make? Perfect.<inaudible> Nothing.

That’s correct. Nothing. I’m just rereading it. Make sure I didn’t goober that one up. Number five. Why were there great numbers of priests under the law? Moses? Because they died. Why? Under the new covenant? Is there only one priest, one high priest? Sorry. All right. Because he continues forever. How often did the high priest under the law of Moses offer up sacrifices for sins There in verse 23,

24 and 27. All right. Daily is the reference here. And then also once for all, when, when he would go in on the day of atonement. All right. How often did Jesus offer sacrifice for sins? One time For all. Okay. So all of these, just laying forth, the contrast between the priesthood of Aaron and the priesthood of Christ who pitched the earthly tabernacle<inaudible> Okay.

Where is the true tabernacle heaven? The law of Moses was a blank and a blank of the heavenly things. All right. An example, and a shadow. And then Jesus is the blank of the new covenant<inaudible> Mediator and discuss the first covenant and the need for a second. What did the first one have that caused the need for the second?<inaudible> All right.

It had imperfections. Okay. Number one. It didn’t have a perfect sacrifice. Okay. Not to say that God somehow messed up. That’s not what we mean by imperfections. The Hebrew writer is saying it had deficiencies by the nature of its existence, without Christ, without Christ. It couldn’t do everything that it needed to do. Okay. So it could not be considered perfect because it wasn’t the end.

It was the picture of what was coming. Okay. So it did exactly what it was intended to do. The problem is they’re trying to use it for a use. It was never intended for, have you ever seen a novice in a trade pick up a tool and try to use it to do a job? It was never intended to do when you take a child and you hand them a screwdriver and they use it to pry up nails,

it might accomplish the goal, but it is not the right tool for the job. Okay. These Jewish Christians are in essence, as children doing that with the law, they are trying to make the law, the eternal covenant and full, full force and power of God to save mankind. And it never was. That was not the function of the law of Moses.

So We’re going to get begin To get some context here. We’re going to begin reading in chapter eight, verse seven for if the first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second because finding fault with them. Now notice one of the attributes he lays forward of the fault of the first covenant Was the people in the first covenant.

Okay? The Israelites became part of the covenant By what, by birth. But what if you gave birth to a child to it, Israel, like they were part of the covenant and they never ever, ever in any way, shape or form attempted to obey God, God, you have a problem with the covenant, don’t you? Because they’re in violation of it.

Under the new covenant, you have a completely different arrangement. Don’t you? Is there anyone who is part of the new covenant who receives the promises of the covenant without being obedient To the covenant? Not, not a one. Nobody Going to go to heaven, having ignored, refused, and rebelled against the covenant of Christ and suddenly end up in heaven and go,

I made it. No, you didn’t. Okay. It’s not going to happen. So one of the attributes of the imperfection of the first covenant is those who were part of it. He says behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the days,

I took them out by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not notice, continue in my covenant. And I disregarded them, says the Lord for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days says the Lord, I will put my laws in their mind and write them on their hearts.

I will be their God. And they shall be my people. None of them shall teach his neighbor. And none his brother saying know the Lord with now does, does Jeremiah. And the Hebrew writer mean by this, that under the new covenant, we have no obligation to go out and teach people, Pull the gospel of Christ, Exact opposite. Okay.

He’s saying, in order for someone to enter the covenant, they have to already know the Lord. So under the law of One of the things that they had to do on a regular basis is take Israelite who are part of the covenant and say, let me teach you who God is. But That happens before someone enters the covenant with the new covenant,

because God says, I’m going to write my laws, not on a table of stone, put away in some Ark of the covenant, not on some height or some skin that’s passed along from generation and copied and copied and copied. But most people never see no I’m going to write my laws on their hearts and in their minds, they’re going to know me.

And that Is what is going to make them a part of the covenant. Then he says, they, I shall be their God. And they shall be my people. None of them shall teach his neighbor. And none his brother saying know the Lord for all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and lawless deeds.

I will remember no more in that. He says a new covenant. All right. So now the Hebrew writers drawing the argument he wants to make about this in that he says a new covenant. He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. He’s looking at the Israelite nation. He’s looking at the law.

He’s looking at the priesthood. The likelihood is the book of Hebrews is written around 60, 61, 62, 80 And 87. These right on the right on the horizon, the things that Jesus prophesied in Matthew chapter 24 and in the book of Luke, they’re about to come to pass. He says, this nation is about to be finished as a nation.

This law, this priesthood, everything about this covenant and this worship is about to be gone. Okay. Their doom is on the horizon is the point here. So then indeed chapter nine, verse one, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. He is about to go into a discussion of the tabernacle. Now we’re going to put some slides up in a few minutes that show some of the attributes of the Tabernacles so that we can just kind of think of them.

And visually see them here in a minute for a tabernacle was prepared. Verse two, the first part in which was the lampstand, the table and the show bread, which is called the sanctuary. Okay. So with me go to the, this slide and this kind of shows it okay. Enough, maybe. So with the tabernacle, you see that the veil kind of the red thing,

number three, that’s separating the back part as we would call it from the front part. Well, this is the back part is what he’s calling the first part. Okay. It’s first because Of prominence, it held the, the lamp stand the table. I’m sorry. I’m reversing it. The lampstand, the table and the showbread are in the front part.

My brain had it backwards Of the sanctuary. So park Five, so four or five, six, seven. That’s where the lamp stand the table and the showbread work. W every priest, every priest could go into that portion of the tabernacle and conserve notice what he says and behind the second veil. So there was the veil that you entered into the tabernacle,

and then the veil that you went through into the most Holy place behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle was called the holiest of all, which had the golden censor, the Ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold in which were the golden pot that had the manna Aaron’s rod, that budded and the tablets of the tabernacle and above all or above it were the cherubim of glory,

overshadowing, the mercy seat of these things. We cannot now speak in detail. He’s describing The things that were in the tabernacle. Originally. I believe the reason why he says we can’t speak about these things, Detail, those things weren’t around anymore. As of the Babylonian captivity Before the Babylonian captivity is the last time we ever read about the articles that were inside the holiest of Holies,

where did they go? What happened to them? There’s lots of people who would love to speculate. Supposedly they’ve been found in a cave somewhere. Doesn’t matter. What matters is this either Then in the days of the Hebrew writer, those things weren’t in the tabernacle anymore. So he couldn’t speak about them in detail. He had as much detailed available to him as we do what was written In the law.

Okay? But he says, when These things verse six had thus prepared, the priest always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services right day in and day out. They would come into that front part of the tabernacle. They’d be there to prepare the showbread, to partake of the showbread, to offer sacrifices, to do other things,

to trim lamps, all of these things they would do on a daily basis. But into the second part, the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance. The Holy spirit indicating this, that the way of the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.

Interesting question. Why do you think he says that the sins committed Ignorance all throughout the year? What did they, I have a responsibility to do when they knew they had committed All for sacrifices, Then say, well, well, I guess there’s another one I got to wait for the day of atonement for hope. I don’t die for David Toman gets here.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. But what about the sin? They didn’t realize they committed. Well, that was part of what was rolled into, as it were the offering on the day of atonement. This was for the sins that the people made, not knowing they had committed sin. For instance, all of those years where they didn’t know they were supposed to be keeping the Passover because no one had the book of the law.

And then Josiah finds the book of the law and reads it and goes, We’ve been, we haven’t been doing this for generations. Okay. Those sins of ignorance were part of what was dealt with in the day. Great job job. So It’s just an interesting point that the Hebrew writer brings out here about one aspect, not saying that’s all of the David homos war,

but one aspect of the day of atonement was this recognition. They knew that he had done things wrong, that they didn’t even know they had done wrong. And So this sacrifice, but this aggravates happened once per year, the Holy spirit, verse eight, indicating this, that the way into the holiest of walls was not yet made manifest. While the first half vernacular was still staying.

He said, You need to understand what the Holy spirit is telling you here in the old Testament law, as he gives you as he gave Moses. And as he gave the Israelites, the pattern for the tabernacle, he’s telling you this, Ain’t the final thing. This is not the end all to be all. This is a picture of Something else.

And They were to understand that because all they were walking into, Was it 10? Okay. Now Notice what he says. It was symbolic verse nine for the present time, in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot make him who performed the service. Perfect. In regard to the conscience, the priest could offer the sacrifice. He could offer a sacrifice for himself,

and then he could offer a sacrifice for the people, but the sacrifice was insufficient to make him or the people perfect. Concerning only are concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. But Christ here’s the contrast. The Holy spirit is indicating this was for a pattern of what was to come. Now, he’s going to talk about the thing that was to come,

but Christ came as high priest of the good things to come with the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands that is not of this creation. Jesus Christ entered tabernacle. That That wasn’t part of this earth. It wasn’t built On this earth. It’s not hewn out with, with stone. It’s not built with, with cloth. It’s not even built with wood.

It’s not overlaid with gold. It’s something else he says, but then not with the blood of goats And of calves With his own blood notice here that he’s entering this perfect tabernacle. And what he’s entering with or through is his own blood. But with his own blood, he entered the most Holy place once for all having obtained eternal redemption for if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,

how much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living. God, he’s not saying that what was in the old Testament didn’t accomplish anything. Didn’t do what it was supposed to. He’s saying, if it did what it did, how much more does the blood of Christ accomplished?

Because it is so much greater than the blood of bulls and goats, then the ashes of a heifer, and that spoke concerning the Syria ceremonial cleansing. The Israelites had to go through if they touched a dead body. Okay. So there were cleansing, there were rituals things they had to do. And the ashes of a heifer were involved in that he says,

and for this reason, yeah. What reason? All right. So hold on to this. The priesthood of Aaron entered A tabernacle that wasn’t the real tabernacle. It was a picture of the real thing and their priesthood of priests. So that couldn’t be made perfect by the sacrifices that they offered still served God and did so faithfully. But Jesus Christ, a sinless high priest who didn’t first have to make sacrifices for himself.

A sinless high priest enters into not the imperfect tabernacle, not the physical tabernacle, but the eternal tabernacle with a sacrifice that’s actually perfect with blood that can actually forgive sins. And then he says, and for this reason, he Is the mediator of a New covenant by means of death Or the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Okay. This is by the way, one of those passages that informs us That without The death of Christ, the people in the old Testament wouldn’t have been saved. Either notice what it said for this reason. He is the mediator of a new covenant by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions. The transgressions were Under the first covenant, The first covenant,

isn’t the new covenant. It’s the covenant that was replaced by the new covenant Jesus Christ, D blood. And this is, this is a non biblical text way of describing what this is saying. The blood of Christ flowed forward when he died. In other words, into the future, you and I, when we sin, we can have salvation by the blood of Christ.

It flowed forward, and it also flowed backwards. It also Went and covered the sins that were under the first covenant. So Aaron, are you saying that the Israelite who live, I lived under the first covenant and never had forgiveness under the first couple. And I know somebody, some people who teach that, I know people who well-intentioned say those people live their lives and they never had forgiveness until Christ came.

And that is not what the old Testament teaches. And it’s not what the new Testament. Okay. They had forgiveness. How long Can you explain Psalm 51 turn to Psalm 51, David, right. Have mercy upon me. Oh God. According to your loving kindness, according to the multitude of your tender mercies and watch this phrase, this is an interesting one.

If they didn’t have forgiveness under the old law, blot out, my transgressions wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Now, either they could, or they couldn’t Be cleansed from their sin under the old law. But if they couldn’t the prophet, David didn’t know it Well then, because somebody’s going gonna say, well, wait a minute,

Aaron, just read a few more verses in Hebrews. And you’re going to get the answer to that. All right. We’re going to, but just, I’m just saying you cannot read Hebrews and make it contradict 1500 years of old Testament text. Add on top of it. This Were there sacrifices for sin before There was a law of Moses. Yes.

We’ve just re we just referenced job, Joe, Who offered sacrifices for the sins Of his children. Well, What about going all the way back to the days of Cain and Abel, were there sacrifices for sin? Yes. Did they take away sin? Yes. All right. So stay with me here. The Hebrew writer has just said that the blood of Christ Went forward and backward to make Atonement for transgressions.

Okay. For Verse 16, where there is a Testament, there is also of necessity. The death of a test dater for a Testament is enforced after men are dead, since it has no power at all. While the test dater lives there for not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood for when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people, according to the law,

he took the blood of the calves and goats with water sprinkle or Scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people. And he’s talking about the, the institution and the consecration of the tabernacle and people and the covenant after the giving of the law at Mount Sinai, all right, went through this ceremony and involved blood. Something had to die to Institute the covenant.

Okay. That’s his point in this sprinkling of blood, something had to die. Jesus Christ and his covenant became into effect when he died, Not before he died. Okay. One preacher illustrated this way. He said it was called on the phone. One day. One of the members of the congregation said, brother, could you come down here? We’re down headed to,

to the lawyer’s office. And, and w we, we’re redoing our will. Could you come down and witness for us? And is there somebody else at the church that could come down to, and we, we just, we just need to get that. Sure. So they went down, they went Witnessed, and they signed their names and the people signed their names.

And Great little time later, another phone call the church building. Rather, we hate to ask this, but we’ve made a change to our will Come down again. And is there anybody there who could go with you to witness our will? So they went down again and they witnessed the will, and they sign their names. Now, which one, the first or the second was in force after they sign their names.

No, neither of them were in forest. People weren’t dead yet Until the person’s dead. The will has no power Or, or force. That was a trick question. That’s why I liked It. When he told it, I thought I got to hang on to that One. Jesus will, his Testament Did not come into force until he died. There’s a great,

big, long discussion about the Thief on the cross that needs To be had, and should be had at some point. And we don’t have time for it tonight because of this very statement right here, the thief lived and died before the new Testament, the new covenant was ever in place, Which Means he lived and died under a different covenant than you and I live and die under,

which means everyone who wants to be saved like the thief on the cross. Can’t be, unless they live 2000 Years ago, if you live 2000 Years ago, you go right ahead and be saved like the thief on the cross. But you can’t do that. Now. You don’t live under the same covenant. He did. You’re under a covenant that has a different law.

Okay. All we can say about that. All right. So No Power at all. While the test dater lives, therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood for when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people. According to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water, Scarlet wool, and his up and sprinkled both the book in itself.

And all the people saying this is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you. Then likewise, he sprinkled the blood, both with blood, both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And according to law, almost all things are purified with blood. And without the shedding of blood, there is no The remission. Therefore it was necessary that the Copies of the things in the heavens,

all right, What are the copies? So we’re clear that those are the copies. The tabernacle of old, the covenant of old are the copies of the things in heaven, in the heavens. Okay. He says, therefore, it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, the blood of bulls and goats,

but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these, why they’re better things they’re of greater significance. So they need a more significant sack. Okay. For Christ does not enter the Holy places Made with hands, which are the copies of the true, but into the heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God, for us, when Jesus Christ died and he made a Toman for all mankind,

did he enter into the temple in Jerusalem, All for that sacrifice? Did he go back into the days of Moses and offer it on in the tabernacle? And the, Now he took it to heaven. That’s where our atonement was made. Okay. For Christ is not entered. The Holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God,

for us, not that he should offer himself often as the high priest enters the most Holy place every year with blood of another, that is the high priest goes in year after year after year, taking the blood that belongs to something else, a blood of bulls and goats and offers it. He would then have to suffer often since the foundation of the world.

But now once at the end of the ages, he has appeared to put away sin By the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this, the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, to those who eagerly wait for him, he will appear a second time apart from sin,

for salvation, for the law, having a shadow of the good things to come and not the very image of the things can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect for them. They would not have ceased to be, or would they for then would they not have ceased to be offered for the worshipers?

Once purified would have had no more consciousness of sins, but in those sacrifices, there is a reminder of sins every year for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. All right. So is it a paradox or a contradiction? The old Testament, Psalm 51, David says, God, you can take away my sins.

You can wash me and make me clean here. Writer says it is impossible. It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. So how can both things be true? And it all comes back to context. Okay, don’t forget the context. Okay. The context of the discussion in the book of Hebrews is The Old Testament system was never intended to be the ultimate solution.

It was never intended to be God’s final answer. It’s sacrifice was imperfect. It’s priesthood was imperfect. Its place was imperfect. Its revelation was imperfect. Its leadership was imperfect. It’s covenant. People were imperfect. All of these things were imperfect. They were pointing to some things Greater. So what happens if the person who’s living, Living under the greater covenant,

greater priesthood, greater law, greater salvation Turns back to the old covenant, Those sacrifices by themselves, separate and apart from the blood of Christ. That’s your key here. He’s already told you before we ever got here, the blood of Christ flowed backwards and forwards Could The blood of bulls and goats separate, independent, and on their own. Totally separated from the blood of Christ.

Could the blood of bulls and goats take away sin. And the answer is not a single time. So then In the East Terminal plan of God, when the blood of bulls and goats, by their very nature, imperfect looked forward to a sacrifice That the book of revelation describes as being offered from the foundation of the world. Revelation chapter 13, verse eight,

the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Now, when was he actually slain 2000 years ago, but when was he as good as slain and the mind of God, the moment the world was created, because God didn’t create the world and then go, oops, it didn’t plan on sin. He created the world and knew What would be needed.

Okay? So in the eternal mind of God, every time there was a sin at every time, beginning, all the way back there at the beginning that there was a sacrifice Sacrifice. And that sin was dealt with In the blood of Christ. And because in India, God’s eternal plan. Those sacrifices were never separated from the blood of Christ. They had the power to take away sin,

but that’s not the argument here. The argument Is not could the blood of bulls and goats in view of the eternal sacrifice of Christ. The sacrifice that’s talked about in Isaiah chapter 53, still under the old law in which God says I will have my servant carry the iniquity of us all. Could those Sacrifices by themselves, standing alone, totally separated from the blood of Christ.

Could they help you? Not at all. And if you walk away from Christ, You have nothing left, but the blood of bulls and goats and they can’t save. Yeah, that’s right. The argument from Hebrews chapters nine and 10. So when you read four, it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. You must Read it in its context.

The argument is separate. And apart from the blood of Christ, therefore, when he came into the world, he said, sacrifice an offering. You did not desire. By the way, this old Testament passage is a prophetic quotation of Jesus Christ. The God speaking to God, the father, the God saying sacrifices and offerings. You God, the father did not desire,

but a body, you, God, the father have prepared for me. Jesus Christ in burn offerings and sacrifices for sin. You had no pleasure. Then I said, Jesus Christ, behold, I, Jesus Christ have come in the volume of the book. It is written of me. Jesus Christ, to do your God. The father’s will, Oh God,

what will did he come to do The father’s will to do what? Offer him self? The whole point of the passage is you gave me a body to do one thing die. Could Jesus Christ before he took on flesh have ever died. Can you, can you kill God? No. Previously saying sacrifice and offering burnt offerings and offering for sin. You did not desire nor had pleasure in them,

which are offered according to the law. Then he said, behold, I have come to do your Willow God. He takes away the first that he may establish the second. Okay. All of this discussion has been to say the first covenant was not perfect. That’s all the way back in chapter eight, verse seven. If the first covenant had been faultless,

then no place would have been sought for the second. He, his whole point has been, you make the first covenant stand by itself and be the solution for all eternity and it can’t do it. So then Jesus Christ came to establish the second. Alright. That is all the time we have. And, and the good, good spot to stop.

So we’re going to pick up in verse 10 on Sunday and go. We will spend the majority of our time in chapter, chapter 10. I’ll just tell you that we will summarize chapter 11 on Sunday and then Wednesday night I will be gone, but I will be leaving a video to cover the review of Jesus, because we’re about to switch back into a study of Jesus.

And then the next Sunday, Michael will be teaching while I’m out of town and beginning with the sermon on the Mount. All right. Thank you for your attention.<inaudible><inaudible>, It’s good to see everyone the same evening. We do have some visitors with us. Some of the young man from the school to preaching are with us, and we’re glad to have you out tonight.

Good to see, have a few announcements. And then, then we’ll have our devotional continue to remember Rodale and Dorothy, Dorothy is waiting her test results on her stress test. So I don’t think she’s gotten those back yet along that same line, Ru Dell’s sister-in-law Demple. That was O’Dell’s his brother’s wife. She passed away today from the COVID virus. So remember Rudy,

I meant, Oh, Dale had passed away last week. I believe it was. We announced. And then she fi she died herself. So remember them in your prayers also remember Jones Springer. My guess is she might not be feeling well tonight. Cause murder did not make it to scene. And so I haven’t talked to them. So I can’t really tell you for sure what’s going on there,

but possibly she didn’t have a good day today. Remember Jessica still having issues with her? I guess it’s stomach problems or seems like that’s what is generally the problem. They’re not with us this evening. So we’re missing them. Robin woods. Remember Robin, and then also Tory Heinz Lee and Leah bank leave has COVID not all of these others have COVID but Leah van Cleve has COVID Janie.

Marlon is doing well after her knee surgery. So we want to continue to remember Janie check on her and also remember Gladys Lau. She’s been having some trouble with the back, I believe. So might want to call her and see how she’s doing Jenny Sanderson’s dad. Vincent. I don’t know how to pronounce his last name. Anyway, let me just say Jenny’s dad is back at home now under hospice care.

So remember him, he just had a stroke and they released him from the hospital and he’s back at home. I’m not sure when they will be returning. I talked, we talked to Terry, I guess it was Monday night and they were down there then. So keep them in your prayers and then had Richardson that Sherry’s dad is in the hospital after falling and fracturing his,

his spine. Got Sherry’s Cheryl’s no one. I said, who is that? That Cheryl’s dead. So I, I just misread that apologize for that. So he did fall and fractured his spine then. Okay. But we, sorry to hear about that. And then Tammy Knox, that’s Becky Posner’s niece has the shingles. And we want to remember that.

That can be a very painful thing to go through. Is that then I think that’s all the announcements I have right now for that I had on this. I do have one, you know, people are getting older these days and I understand that Aaron is getting that way now today’s his birthday. So wish him a happy birthday. And he can be thankful that it’s not as old as some of us.

Some of us are twice as old as he is, are older. So yeah. Anyway, you can be thankful. You’re not that old. Well, we just, we just keep going ahead of you though. Anyway, Aaron’s going to be leading our song service tonight. Noah Olson is going to offer the invitation and then Terry Whitley is going to lead us in a closing prayer number 71,

Number 71 as the deer, As the deer pants for water. So my soul longs after you, you alone know my heart’s desire and I long to ship you.<inaudible> she<inaudible>, you<inaudible>. And I long to ship you. I won you more than gold or silver only you can. That is fuck you alone are the real joy giver. And the,

my<inaudible> my she<inaudible> you alone. I Steans I and I long to ship you. Song of invitation will be number 922 Nine two two. Good evening. I want to share with you something that I heard at a lectureship in Missouri, an illustration I’ve come to love and it’s going to illustrate our points for this evening. It happened at a college supposedly,

supposedly affiliated with the church. And there were two boys throwing Coke bottles down the hallway. They were throwing them down the hallway just to see how far they could get, throw them just to competition. And these were the Coke bottles that are really thick. You throw them on the ground. They’re not going to break. And they kept going back and forth and it was a competition.

And as one of the kids lined up to throw his Coke bottle, another student came out of the dorms, not knowing that this missile would hit him straight in the head. It did. He fell immediately to the floor and they took him to the emergency room. They actually sent him home that night and that night he started hammering and he died. Well,

I didn’t mean to kill anyone. The student said, I didn’t mean to do that. Well, you can see he’s devastated. And of course the school doesn’t know what to do. So they put them aside. And the parents, the student finds out that this was there only child, their only child. And so the parents meet with the child or the student and the father is,

starts talking. He says, son, we, we know you didn’t mean to kill our son. We know it was an accident. The father continues talking. He says, the son, since you’ve came to this school, we we’ve learned that you voted the gospel. You’re a Christian now. And since, because of your decision, your family has disowned.

You. They say you don’t have a home here, father then says this statement, son, can we adopt you? Would you like to be called our son? I want to ask you tonight who has done that for us in Romans chapter five. I want you to notice verse number eight, but God commendeth his love toward us. And that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

The love of the father is something that is amazing to understand. I love the song, how deep the father’s love for us. How vast beyond all measure that he would give his only son to make us so we could have a home and an eternity with him. You know, we can’t, it’d be called the sons of God. We can have the most powerful beam in the universe is our father.

We get to call him father that’s, that’s a blessing. We should be thankful for that. And we get to talk to him. He’s given us so many blessings that we should enjoy. Physical. Cool. More importantly, spiritual. I want you to notice also first John chapter three and verse number one, the whole or of love the father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God.

Therefore, the world know what this not because it knew him not. We are the children of God. We get to be called the sons of the father because of the father’s love. And also Christ’s love for us, John 15, verse 13, greater love hath. No man than this, the man would lay down his life for his friends. That’s a blessing for us to understand that we can be called the children of God because of our obedience,

but we must obey. We have to obey his word or else we will be lost. Yes. God loves us. He gave his son for the whole world. John three years. We’re 16, but we have to do our part number. There’s one here tonight who has never obeyed the gospel. Perhaps you hearing the word now, are you willing to believe that Jesus is right?

God, are you willing to repent of your sins? Confess Christ before man be baptized for the remission of sin. So you can be called a child of God, but perhaps you’ve already done. You’ve already done. So you are a child of God that you’ve strayed away from the faith you have not done as God would want you to do. I love second Peter,

three universe. Number nine. The Lord is not Slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness, but as long suffering to us, we’re not willing to notice this any should perish, but that all should come back to repentance. He loves you and he wants you to come back. He’s ready with open arms, but you have to make that decision.

And if anyone is subject, why don’t you come as we stand? And as we say,<inaudible>, it is small child.<inaudible> find in me all in all Jesus paid it all to him. I owe<inaudible>. He was eh, wide as no<inaudible><inaudible> I know long<inaudible> heart of stone. So Jesus paid it all to him. I owe<inaudible> had left.

Crimson’s dang.<inaudible> no,<inaudible> him complete. Hey, my trophies. Oh,<inaudible> jeez paid<inaudible> to him. I owe<inaudible>. He wash, eh, wide as no Before we pray, I would like to thank everybody for the calls and cards and even flowers. You it’s. I appreciate it. And I want the church to know that I just wanna let y’all know that this COVID is,

is pretty serious stuff. I mean, it’s, it hit me pretty hard and I appreciate your prayers. Most, especially now let’s be dismissed our heavenly father. We thank you Lord, for the privilege to be in your house tonight. We thank you for Noah Lord that brought the devotional tonight and it was a so touching Lord. It was your true word.

Lord, we ask that you bring the sick back to us Lord and bring them back into the worship and be with ones that have lost loved ones, Lord, and just comfort them as only you can Lord be with the ones that are going to be traveling, just keep them safe and bring them back safely. For these things we ask in your precious and Holy name.

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12-13-2020 – Live Stream Sermon: In Case of Adversity: DO THIS

In Live Streams, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible> good morning. We are in the book of Hebrews<inaudible>. We will go over the questions for chapters five and six, but we’re going to wait and do it after we finished chapter six, since we didn’t get there on, on Wednesday. So we’re gonna kinda move through the end of chapter six, then we’ll go look at the questions and then we’ll enter into seven and eight and we’ll see.

We’ll see. All right, let’s begin with a word of prayer. Our gracious, mindful father in heaven. We are so grateful for all of your many blessings for all of the things that we have in this life that we do not even fully understand and appreciate that you do for us on a daily basis. We’re mindful of this time of those who are dealing with illnesses,

those families that are dealing with the loss of loved ones or loved ones in critical condition, we pray that you will be with them in this difficult time. We pray that you be with those who at this time of the year have struggles and, and cares and concerns because of lost loved ones that come to mind. And we pray that you will give them comfort and strength as well.

We pray that you watch over us as we go through this period of study, may the things that we say and the things that we learn, be those things that you would have us to learn and be those things which are in accordance with your will. And may we always strive to live in a way that is in accordance with the scriptures that you have given to us all this,

we pray in Jesus name, amen.<inaudible> Chapter six. We made it really just down to verse six, where the Hebrew writer says, if we, if they fall away to renew them again to repentance, actually, let’s go back to verse four, just to make a full, full sentence for it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy spirit and have tasted of the good word of God and of the powers of the age to come.

And if taste, if they fall away to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves, the son of God, and put him to an open shame for the earth, with drink, which drinks in the rain. I’m having a hard time reading this morning for the earth, which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated receives blessings from God.

But if it bears thorns and briers is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burdened. The analogy here at the end of this section is valuable to us to get the point, okay? Because the Hebrew writer is he is describing these people who he says it is impossible to renew to repentance. We’ll give you a clear picture in the analogy,

because what is it he describes. He describes either the plants that come forth, taking the soil, taking the blessings of God and out of that, they bring forth good fruit or the plans that come forth, taking the blessings from God and the blessings from the soil and bear for earth. What thorns and briers and this hearkens back to an analogy that Jesus made.

Jesus said, if you, as a, as a vine grow up and you bear forth, no fruit or evil fruit, what does he say is going to happen to you? You’re going to be burned up. You’re going to be uprooted and cast into the fire. Now this declaration of impossibility, as we talked about on Wednesday, goes back to the,

the, the commandment or the declaration from God. Then none of these Israelites that came out of Egypt that came to the edge of the promised land. He said, none of them are going to go into my promised land. And he said, it’s going to happen bringing together what the Hebrew writer says because of their rebellion and unbelief. It didn’t matter if they repented.

It didn’t matter if they turned back. It didn’t matter if they said, I’m sorry. God said, you’re not entering my rest. It was impossible. They were not getting another opportunity. But the discussion of would they repent, did they repent really hinges on the fact of what happened to that generation? Because though they would get in a fix, they would repent.

They would turn around. They would say, I’m sorry, but then what will they do? They turn right back to rebelling again. And the Hebrew writer declares them to have an evil heart of on belief. He said, the problem was not their unwillingness to change. It was that ultimately their heart was unwilling to submit to God. And so here,

that analogy really gives us a clear picture of what he’s saying. He said, if your heart is the problem, if you take the blessings of God and produce evil fruit, the problem is not the fruit. The problem is what’s inside you. Okay? So the same analogy that Jesus makes that the one who bears evil fruit, though, he’s given all the blessings of God though.

He’s tended by the vineyard keeper though. He’s the one that you know, is inside the vineyard of, of, of God. He said, if he bears evil fruit, he’s going to be ripped up, pulled out. And because his heart is the problem. So the Hebrew writer is telling us, as long as you have a heart that will not obey God.

It doesn’t matter what you change by way of your actions. You cannot be renewed to repentance because the renewal begins in the heart. You can change the outward person. You can change the activities. You can change the actions, but heart is still the problem until the heart changes. That person can’t be renewed to repentance. That person cannot be restored Lord,

because their heart is the problem. Okay? So ultimately in, in all of this discussion, the disc discussion revolves around someone who has is so as the, as the scripture uses the term hard hearted, that God’s actions will not penetrate there. Hardheartedness as the example would be, they see the sea parted before they see the plagues in Egypt, they see all the things,

God, it does. And yet they still won’t believe him. Okay? Now verse nine. But beloved having said all of this, having said, you’re too dull of hearing. Having said that you may be so hard-hearted that you’ll be like those in Israel, who are those Israelites who couldn’t enter God’s rest. Having said all of those things he says,

but beloved, we are confident a better things concerning you. Yes. Things that accompany salvation, though, we speak in this manner, having chastised them, having rebuked them for their inability to hold on, to and, and obtain the meat of the word. Having rebuke them for constantly, always having to be taught. Instead of being teachers, he then brings them back to this and says,

but I know you can do better. I know you will do better. I know you’re not like those people in the old Testament for God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love, which you have shown toward his name in that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. And we believe that each of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope under the end that you do not become sluggish,

but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. So he says, you’ve got examples in front of you. You’ve got, yeah, those who are leading you down the road path now followed them, do what they do. And he said, you’ve ministered. You’ve served in the past. And I know you’ll serve. Now. I know you have a heart willing to do for others.

One of the things that is an attribute of the Israelites in the rebellion and in that first-generation was, it was always about themselves. One of the things that they failed in was a willingness to do to suffer for others, benefit everyone, every single complaint, every single murmuring, every single grumbling, every single uproar against Moses always was rooted in selfishness. And so the Hebrew runner identifies in these Christians,

the exact opposite attribute. He said, you may not be everything you need to be in your knowledge. You may not be everything you need to be in your understanding and in your learning, your service indicates something about your heart. And so that, that is where he tacks on his, his confidence in them that if they will continue to serve, if they will continue to act in the way they have acted in the past,

they have still a hope and assurance of the promises of God. So then he says, verse 13, when God made a promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no one greater. He swore by himself saying, surely blessing. I will bless you. And multiplying, I will multiply you as he’s just described the impossibility of God, declaring a person who will not enter his rest to ever be restored to that.

Rest. God said there is no way you, as an Israelite in that first-generation are going to enter the promised land. And there was no, there was nothing they could do that would overact or countermand God’s decision to the same extent that they had assurance that they would never enter. God’s rest in that. First-generation now he turns around to say, but just as great,

the assurance is that God says you’re judged that first-generation his judgment would be so the same greatness of God’s assurance. He is in his promise of a reward. If you could look at that first-generation and there was no chance, there was nothing they were going to do to counteract what God said. You can look at the promises of God and know there’s just as much as surety to the one who’s found faithful that they will enter God’s rest.

So, you know, example could be, if we kind of pulled this forward back to the, to the first generation that left Egypt, Joshua and Caleb, their faithfulness. So mandated that just as much as the, the rest of the population would not enter God’s rest, they would because of their faithfulness, they had as much as surety as the other people did just for the opposite,

the opposite result. Okay? So he describes here Abraham. He says for when God made a promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no one greater. He swore by himself saying, surely blessing. I will bless you. And multiplying, I will. This comes from Genesis 22. And so after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise for men indeed swear by the greater and an oath for confirmation is for them.

And end of all, dispute thus God determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise. The immutability of his counsel can by an oath that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay, hold on the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul,

both sure. And steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil, where the 4runner has entered for us. Even Jesus, having become high priest forever, according to the order of milk. So first of all, what is the word immutability mean? Common, everyday word for all of us, right? Changeable. He says by these two unchangeable things,

God’s word and God’s oath by these two unchangeable things. God swore that his rest, his promise would be available, but it uses Abraham. As the example, he says, surely blessing. I will bless you and multiplying. I will multiply you skills back to the promise of God, to Abraham, to give him a son. Now, what age was Abraham?

When God made them Promise initially 75, 75, What age was he? When he fulfilled the promise? 125 years later, as one, one, preacher put it. He said, if you make a promise to a 75 year old, most of us would say, you better hurry up and actually fulfill that promise. There is going to be too late,

but with God, he didn’t, he didn’t hurry up, let alone, he waited another 25 years. The point being the assurance was because God said it, it was going to happen. And here we have the Hebrew writer saying just as much as Abraham could be assured that God was going to give him a son. So also we have an assurance and our assurance is tied to what<inaudible> All right.

But the assurance is tied to the anchor of the soul. Jesus having entered in ahead of us. Okay. Notice what he says here in verse 16 there, sorry. Verse, verse 19. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure. Instead fast. And which enters the presence beyond behind the veil where the 4runner has entered for us.

Even Jesus, remember back over in<inaudible> I’m going to forget where this was.<inaudible> Yes. Chapter four, chapter four, verse 14. Seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast. Our confession for we do not have a high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses,

but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin, let us therefore come boldly before the throne of grace that we may find mercy or may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. He said, here’s why we can have boldness to enter the throne of God. Here’s why we can have boldness to seek God’s help because we have a high priest,

Jesus Christ. Who’s passed through the heavens. He’s gone ahead of us. So also we have an anchor over in eternity for our hope. Our assurance is because Christ went ahead of us. We can go where he is. You remember what Jesus told the apostles in John chapter 14. He said, where I go? You can’t go yet. But if I go,

I’m going to prepare a place for you. And when I come back, I’m going to receive you to myself. His going was our confidence, our hope, our anchor, as it were we using the analogy of the ship. If you want to ship, to stay where it needs to be. If you want a ship to stay in one place,

the only way to do it is to drop an anchor. Well, once that anchor’s dropped, as long as that ship stays attached to that anchor, that ship is staying in that place. It’s a sherd. It steadfast. It won’t move well. If our anchor was, as it were carried into eternity by Christ, then what do we have to worry about?

When the storms of life, the difficulties of life, the treachery of life comes and beats on our whole. We don’t have anything to worry about why our anchor is already in heaven. Okay? So our hope, our assurance is steadfast to the end. All right, there is much, much, much more that we can say about that, but we’re going to go through the questions and move on to chapter seven.

What was the job of the human high priest?<inaudible> All right. Offer gifts and sacrifices for sin for whom did he offer sacrifices Himself and all the people who is the high priest forever. All right. Jesus Christ. According to what order is Christ a high priest? No kids. A deck. Yes or no. Did Jesus obey the father? Yes.

Whom should persons obey now?<inaudible> Yeah. Christ or the father either, either one of those, just depending on how you’re reading the, the, the, him there. Immature Christians are said to need blank for food milk, mature. Christians are said to need blank for food, strong meat, those persons to whom the writer of Hebrews addressed a had ministered in the past be were ministering at the present time.

Or C had never ministered. Say that again. A and B, why did the Hebrew writer encourage the hearers to exert faith and patience?<inaudible> To inherit the problem promises and what is the anchor of the soul? All right. Jesus having entered heaven. So the Hebrew writers told them, I can’t tell you about middle kids, a deck yet, because you’re too dull of hearing.

Then he puts before them, the ultimate outcome of if they have a heart of rebellion, then he says, but we have confidence in you that you won’t be that way. Then he says, Abraham was assured of his promises and God fulfilled them. Then he says, Jesus Christ has entered into heaven. And he’s our anchor of the soul. He’s our hope.

Our assurance from God. Now he’s going to return back to McGee is the deck again, okay? Because he’s not going to give up on this. He wants them to change their heart. So they’re able to hear what he has to say about Christ. He stood for this milk is a deck King know Salem priest of the most high who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the Kings and blessed him to whom also Abraham gave a 10th part of all first being translated,

King of righteousness, and then also King of Salem, meaning King of priest without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life, but may length. The son of God remains a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a 10th of the spoils. This is going to be one of those where we can go much deeper if we had time,

but we don’t. So we’re going to kind of summarize what’s here. Milk is a deck enters in to the biblical record with no parentage, no description of where he came from. No description of who his father was. No description of who is his children were no description of his lineage. He shows up in the life of Abraham, and then we never read about him again,

other than in the Psalms, looking forward to the Messiah. And so the Hebrew writer says here, we have this man who have no, no parents, no descendants by way of the record. He’s he’s not like Abraham who you, you begin with Abraham and you can work your way backwards to Adam. You can begin with Abraham and work your way forward,

all the way to Christ. You have a lineage with Aaron. You could go back to Levi and then go all the way back to Abraham. Then go all the way back to Adam with Levi and Erin, you could go with the high priesthood all the way forward to that present day, you have this lineage, but not with milk is a deck with no kids.

Yeah. That you have one who stands alone as a priest of the most high God. And his point is who made him a priest? It wasn’t who his father was. It wasn’t who his grandfather was. It wasn’t who his ancestor was or who his descendants would be. Who made him a high priest. God did. Okay. The Hebrew writer is struggling with these people,

these readers to make sure they understand that they don’t need to go back to the law of Moses. So they can have a high priest who stands physically in front of them. They need a high priest. Who’s appointed by God. And so he goes to milk his deck and he says, here’s your example. And it’s not just the Hebrew writer going.

Ah, I think this will be a good example. He’s going to use Psalm. I think it’s one Oh four as the, the connection, the prophecy Connect smoke is a deck to Christ. Okay. So he’s going to write to these people and he’s going to tell them about this King, because the reality is, as he draws forward here in chapter seven Moses’s law would never allow a priest to be a King and a Moses’s law would never allow it King to be a priest.

And yet they have a King and priest reigning right now. So if they go back to the law, they have to give up their King and their priests. If they stay with their King and their priest, they have to give up the law. He’s putting them in a, in a choice where they have to give up one or the other, if they can’t have both and they need to see that.

Okay. So he talks about who’s greater for the Hebrew mindset. Moses was great, but Abraham was greater because without Abraham, you have no Moses. Moses was not the one that God said, I will make you a blessing to all nations that wasn’t said to Moses that was said to Abraham. Moses was not the one who was told in your seed nations of the earth will be blessed.

Abraham was so for the Jew. Moses is great, but Abraham is greater. Yeah. The argument is you see Moses, and then you see Abraham is greater. And yet Abraham had someone who was greater than him, even in his this day. And it was bell Kizza deck. Okay? So this path of greatness in the Jewish mindset is what the Hebrew writer’s going to tie onto to say,

Mel Kislyak deck was greater than Abraham and Jesus is after the order of no kids, a deck and not Abraham. Okay. So watch what he says. First of all, he describes my kid’s dead. Cause we just read then verse five, actually, let’s go with verse four. Now, consider how great. Now notice here, we’re in a discussion of greatness,

how great this man was.<inaudible> deck to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a 10th of spoils. You do not take of your possessions and give TRIBE the mute to someone who’s lesser than you. You don’t do that. You don’t say I see this. We ban over here. He has no power. He has no authority. He has no substance.

And yet I’m going to give a 10th of all that I have to him in honor of him. No, no, no. That’s not what you do. Instead, you see someone who as Abraham did, who’s a priest of the most high God. Who’s a King. And you say, because of your greatness, I will give you this tribute.

Okay? So notice Abraham is recognizing no kids at X greatness by his actions. And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi who received the priesthood, have a commandment to receive ties from the people. According to the law. That is from their brethren though, they have, from the loins of Abraham, he says, you look at the rust of the gifts and the blessings that the Levi’s receive.

They receive a 10th of everything. They received the time from all the people, but their brethren. They’re not really receiving that because they’re greater. They’re all descendants of Abraham. And yet here, Abraham gives it to my kids, a deck as one who is greater. Okay. Now notice what he says, but he, whose genealogy is not derived from them.

Received ties from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. Now beyond all contradiction, the lesser is blessed by the better here mortal men receive ties, but there he receives them of whom it is witnessed that he lives even Levi who receives ties, paid times through Abraham. So to speak for. He was still in the loins of his father when my kids met him.

All right. So the point of the analogy, art, Mel kids deck is greater than Abraham because Abraham paid ties to Mel kids. A deck and point, Mel Kizza deck is greater than Abraham because Mel Kizza deck blessed Abraham, and you don’t have the one who’s lesser blessing. The one who’s greater, you don’t have the peasant comes to the King and says,

let me give you a blessing. You have the peasant who comes to the King and says, give me a blessing because the King is greater than the peasant. Okay? Here’s the analogy. You have Abraham receiving a blessing from his neck. That means mocha has X greater than Abraham. You have Abraham giving a time to<inaudible>. That means my kids deck is greater than Abraham.

You have a Levi. Who’s a descendant of Abraham who hasn’t even been born yet. And the third analogy is you. The, the Hebrew writer says in essence, because Levi descends from Abraham, you have Levi giving a time to Mel kids, a deck because he’s not even born yet, yet. The one who’s greater than him, his ancestor Abraham gives a time to make his day.

So the three points are those three ideas. The time, the blessing and the imposter clarity. Since the time of Levi all given the milk kids, a deck indicating kids, a deck was greater than Abraham. And the analogy drawing forward then is Jesus Christ is a high priest, not after the low, the line of Levi, but of the great line of milk is a deck.

Okay? So that’s about as quick as I can summarize that. Therefore he says verse 11, if perfection we’re through the Levitical priesthood for under it, the people receive the law. What further need was there for another than another priest should arise? According to the order of<inaudible>. Now this Hawk hearkens back to Psalms. Psalms says, there’s going to be another priest he’s coming.

He’s coming after the order of<inaudible>. Now wait a minute. If the live local political priesthood descendants true, Aaron is perfect. Is all that we need then why is it there is here in the Psalms, a prophecy of a greater priesthood. There, there has to be a greater priesthood or there wouldn’t be a replacement of the current priesthood. You don’t replace something that’s greater with something that’s inferior.

Nobody takes their bright, shiny, new, very expensive car and says, you know what? I’m ready to trade it in for a dump that doesn’t work. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You don’t do that. You don’t trade in the perfect for the worse. But if you’ve traded in one for something that you see as better,

it indicates there was something wrong with the first one, the Levitical priesthood. So then notice, he says for the priesthood being changed of necessity, there is also a change of the law for he, of whom these things are spoken, belongs to another tribe from which no man has officiated at altar for. It is evident that our Lord arose from Judah of which TRIBE Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.

And it is yet far more evident. If in the likeliness of many kids, a deck there arises another priest who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life for he testifies, you are a priest forever. According to the order of Melchizedek for on the one hand, there is a knowing of the former commandment because of its weakness and it’s unprofitable illness for the law made nothing perfect.

On the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to God, okay? Again, one of these passages where we could spend an entire class period, but let’s summarize it to point these things out. First of all, he says, if you change the priesthood of Aaron, you must change the law. You must must remove the law with the priesthood goes,

the law with the law goes to the priesthood. You cannot separate them. You cannot. If we were going to bring it forward to a current analogy and court case in our day in time before the Supreme court, they had the court case to see whether or not they could cut out the mandate from the affordable care act. Okay? The whole discussion is can this be removed and leave the rest intact?

Can we remove that piece and keep the rest of the law? Well, under the law, Moses, you couldn’t, you couldn’t cut out the priesthood and keep the law. You couldn’t do it because there’s no other substitute. The law made no opportunity for a different priest from a different tribe. And so he says, evident, it’s clear. We,

we can see that Jesus Christ came from Judah and the law made no provision for a priest out of Judah. So we can’t get rid of the Levitical priesthood and keep the law. Can’t have Jesus Christ as priest under the law. Therefore for him to be priest, we have to remove the law. We have to take all of it and put it aside.

And yet he says, don’t, don’t look at this as though this is a bad thing because in taking away the law in its deficiencies, in its failures, he’s in some thing. And there’s our word better. Okay. All the way through here. The whole point is Jesus Christ. His law, his priesthood, his salvation is better than what came Moses.

Okay. So he says For on the one hand verse 18, there isn’t a knowing of the former commandment because of its weaknesses and unprofitable illness. So there’s the inferiority of the law for the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to God. And in as much as he was not made priest without an oath for,

they have become priests without an oath. Excuse me, let me read that again. And in as much as he was not made a priest without an oath for, they have become priest without an oath, but he, with an oath by him who said to him, the Lord has sworn and will not relent. You are a priest forever. According to the order of Melchizedek,

by so much more, Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. Okay? So he’s hearkening back to this reality that he’s described of Aaron’s priesthood. They became a priest by being born by being born. A descendant of Aaron, Jesus became a priest by an oath from God. God’s oath is what’s being described here. And so, because he’s become a priest by an oath of God,

he has a greater covenant than Aaron does. So the Lord has sworn and will not relent. You are priest forever. According to the order of Melchizedek, verse 23. Also, there were many priests because they were prevented by death from continuing as he talks about the priesthood. One of the deficiencies that it says you had to keep replacing Them. You,

you you’d Have one priest and then he died and you needed another priest and he died and you needed another priest. Not Jesus. He’s a priest For forever On ending without death. But he verse 24 because he continues forever has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost, those who come to God, through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Imagine you were the person who was reliant on a priest to go before God reliant on the high priest for the forgiveness of your sins, for the, for the intercessory act that he makes on behalf of you for the offering of sacrifice. And just as you’re preparing to enter into eternity to stand before God, your high priest, No. What are you going to do?

Your intercessors gone. He’s dead. But the Hebrew writer says not with Christ. He’s always there to make intercession for you. Surely we’re going to get that with chapter eight, right? All right. Therefore, he is also able to save to the uttermost. Those who come to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them, for such a high priest was fitting for us,

who is Holy harmless, undefiled separate from sinners and has become higher than the heavens who does not need daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins. And then for the peoples, for this, he did once for all, when he offered up himself for the law appoints as high priest, men who have weaknesses, but the word of the oath,

which came after the law, appoints the son who has been perfected for forever. So again, he goes back to the Psalms and he says, here’s, here’s the law of Moses in time. Here’s the law of Moses. Here’s the priesthood. All of these things are in existence, but then sometime later here, God makes this oath and the oath identifies the problems,

but it also sets forth a better solution. Now this is the main point of the things we are saying. We have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens. If he’s a high priest and yet he seated at the right hand of the throne, He’s a priest and King, Okay. That’s the identification here,

a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord erected and not man for every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this one also have something to offer. This is the priest. Wasn’t just an honorary position. He had a service, he had a ministering or a ministry to fulfill for.

If he verse four we’re on earth, he would not be a hype or would not be a priest. Since there are priests who offer the gifts, according to the law who serve the copy and the shadow of the heavenly things as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle for, he said, see that you make all things, according to the pattern shown you on the mountain,

but now he has obtained a more excellent ministry in as much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which is established on better promises. So he said, if Jesus was alive on this earth, he couldn’t be a priest. He’s up the wrong TRIBE. And there’s already a priesthood during the time of the writing, the Hebrew or the Jewish priesthood still existed.

The temple was still there. They could have walked in and Jesus could have walked in as it were and said, all right, I’m here to serve as a priest. And they would’ve said, no, you’re not you’re of the wrong lineage. You have no in this. And yet they’re in the lesser tabernacle. They’re in the earthly one that just has a representation of the heavenly one.

There they’re serving in the, the picture of the real thing. He’s in heaven, serving in the real tabernacle. He’s in heaven, serving in the very throne of God. So he has obtained a better covenant because he’s a better mediator, which is established on better promises for if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.

Again, going back to the analogy, you don’t take the perfect car or that you already own, that has no flaws has no issues. Absolutely perfect. And trade it in for a lesser model. You don’t do that here. He said, you already have a priesthood. If you replace it with a new one, it’s not because the first one was perfect.

It’s because it wasn’t verse eight because finding fault with them, he says, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I, when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt,

because they did not continue in my covenant. And I disregarded them, says the Lord for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days says the Lord, I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. And I will be their God. And they shall be my people. None of them teach his neighbor.

And none his brother saying know the Lord for all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their lawless deeds. I will remember no more. This is quoted from Jeremiah in that he says, all right, so he’s quoted Jeremiah to draw this point out in that he says a new covenant.

He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Okay. So again, more could be said about everything here in Jeremiah. And there’s, there’s a wealth between Jeremiah 31 and Hebrews eight. But his point is, Jeremiah said in his day, I’m going to make a new covenant with my people.

Not like the one that I made with them when they came out of Egypt. And here’s the defining attribute. Here’s, what’s different. The one that I made with them when they came out of Egypt, they received part in the covenant because they were born into it. They by birth have no Decision-making of their own became part of the covenant, but not the new covenant.

The new covenant begins with their decision. It begins with their heart. It begins with them choosing to be part of the new covenant, which covenant, the Hebrew writer says to the Christians and to you and I today, we are part of a better covenant than the one in the past. Okay. That’s chapter eight. I knew I could do it.

And yet there’s a little part of me dying inside because there’s so much in chapter<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible>, But it’s about time to begin our worship service this morning. We do want to welcome all of you here today. And I’m just looking over the audience. And I don’t believe we have any visitors today, which is kind of unusual, but I know with the COVID increasing in its strength,

seems like over the country, that’s causing people a little bit more concerns and perhaps some are, might not be feeling well and, and decided not to try to make it today. So this remember all of these. We do want to remind you, if you did not pick up your communion to do that, if you haven’t already, we want to remember those that are ill,

continue to pray for Joan Springer. She has her good days and bad days. And I think I didn’t get a chance to talk to Marie about her when he came in, but she has been having, I think, more, better day or better days than she has had bad days, unless that’s changed. And I I’ve checked with him. I have to services on that.

Remember Robin woods and Jessica Dale and Tori Heisley, all of these continue to pray for them that they might improve their health. Janie Marlin is recovering from her knee replacement surgery. Now she’s going to therapy three times a week, and we want to continue to pray that everything will go well with that. And she’ll be able to have full use of her knee.

Again, Dortha Wilson is waiting Results on her stress test. So we want to continue to pray for her. And then dental Wilson that’s Rue, Dale Wilson, sister in law is in ICU with COVID and don’t forget that he lost his brother ODALE Eve to that. And they’re, they’re hoping that dimple will survive, but they’re not sure is it last word?

We got it. Wasn’t looking very good. It was good to see Pam with us today. She’s back, but she’s still not quite up to par. She said, and we want to continue to pray for her. That things will continue to make some improvement for, I know she’s been dealing with this for quite some time. So encourage her and keep her in your prayers.

Gladys Lyles is having some back problems and that is hurt. You’re supposed to go to see a doctor tomorrow and along that same line. I want to mention that Janney Sanderson’s dad had another stroke. He’s in the, what the doctors are doing. They’re just, they’re trying to get him strong enough so that he can go back home and then he will be under hospice care.

So I know that Terry and Jenny left yesterday to go down there to be with her dad. So, so they’re not with us today and we won’t, we won’t remember them. So I’m not sure if Gladys has a way down there. I don’t know if she’s set up anybody else. I probably check with her after services and, and see if she needs a ride to the hospital or to the doctor’s office.

Cause I don’t know if they had time to make those arrangements. Leah van clave that’s Becky’s niece, Becky Posner’s niece has COVID and we want to remember her. And also her sister Vicki Wadsworth is, seems to have a persistent cough and is not able to get over that. So keep her in your prayers. I guess when people get sick, they’re always more susceptible to the virus and we hope and pray.

None of these that are in that condition, that, that, that happens to them. Man’s business meeting will be tomorrow evening at 7:00 PM here at the church building. So we want to remind you of that. And we want to thank Sandy McCall for the decorations that she puts in the four year and out in front of the building. She always makes it look so nice.

And we appreciate her doing that. She does such a great job of that. And I, I just happened to be up here that this last time she went through that and I saw all the work. She went through getting that arranged and it takes her quite some time to do that. So she works real hard at it, but she just really makes the building and everything we’re inviting.

And we appreciate it so much. I have a note here from the Richardson. Family says, greetings. We want to take a moment to wish you all a happy holiday season. We miss you out. We miss you all and pray that you’re all. Well, we wanted to say thank you again for all the support, love, and care for us while we were in school.

We love you all. And think of you often, please keep us and the work at Eagleville and your prayers as we continue our labors here in Christ, the Richardson’s on that same note. We want to make the congregation aware that we are supporting of the Richardsons. The diplomas actually have are retiring at the end of this year and will no longer need our support.

So we’re going to start supporting Eric and his family in that work up there. So keep that in mind, keep praying for them that everything will continue to go well for that, that word this morning, Noah Olsen will be directing our song service. Jay Shafir has our opening prayer. Tommy O’Neil has the communion and Aaron Wood air, and we’ll be bringing the sermon.

And then Eric Richardson there, Eric, Eric, Eric Halvorson, w we have a joke about that. Cause I do this so often. Eric Halverson will have our closing prayer. Noah, good morning, number 716, 700 1616 seven one six. We will sing the all three versus seven one six. Sing to me. The then singing that song up.

He sprung the tiles behind me. It will bring green. The burdens well being lifted that are pressing. So showers, green blasting or my heart. Well flown sing to me, man. I’m only dream of it’s go then Laurie, this really glean saying to me, when shadows of the evening, seeing turn me and saying no sweetness song of all saying to me have,

and as I walk up dreaming of the comrades that so long have gone and a fairer region, Mong the angels wrong. They are happy as they sing that all sweet song sing to me. Then let me find the dream of its golden glory of its burly. Gleam. Sing to me when shadows of the name fall, sing to me, heaven, seeing the sweet song of all I’m saying to me,

a haven’t tender the<inaudible> till the shadows army rise and swiftly. When my heart is wary, when the day is long, sing to me, heaven sing that old sweet song. Sing to me. Oven led me fun. The dream of its golden glory of its Burnie. The same saying to me, when shadows of the evening fall seeing to me heaven,

seeing this weed is song of all Next song will be number 537 five three seven. Here we are bit string Toblerones five, three, seven. We’ll sing all three verses. Hmm, Here we are. But strain pilgrims. You a path is often them, but to cheer a song, our journey still, we sing this way, side him yonder over the rolling river where the shining mansions rise soon and will be our home for ever,

and the smile of the blessing and gave her. And gladdens all our longing a rise here. Our feet are often very the Hills that throng our way here, the 10th star clean gathers, but our hearts within us say,<inaudible> the rolling river where the shining mansions rise soon and will be our home for ever. And the smile of the blessing gave her gladdens all our longing a rise here.

Our souls are often fearful of the pilgrims lurking full, but the Lord is RD fender and he tells us may know Yon neral over the rolling river where the shining mansions rise soon on be our home far as ever. And the smile of the blessing given gladdens all our longing Song to help us prepare our minds for Lord’s supper. Or we actually do have a career,

sorry, Almighty God, our father, Holy and revered is your name and father. As we approach your throne this hour, we acknowledge you as a creator of this universe, our creator, we are so very grateful that you saw fit to create us in your image with a soul. And we’re also so very grateful that you gave us your word through your son,

that we may have a pathway for our lives and a route to heaven. We give you all our honor and praise father. We’re mindful of the church that meets here. Many of our number are unable to be with us due to fear or the COVID. And also there are many of them, many of us that are suffering from illnesses. We pray your healing hands will be upon all those that were mentioned today that they may be once again,

returned to their rightful place with us. We’re also mindful father of the turmoil that’s going on in this country. We pray for unity that we know that you are in control and whatever is best for us. You will see to it that it happens as we go through the further exercise. So this worship service, we are mindful that we often fail the,

and we do pray for forgiveness of our sins. As we repent and turn from them that we may stand whole and pure in your sight. And that our worship to you this hour will be a sweet savor senior Jesus in Jesus name that we pray amen. Now to prepare our minds for Lord’s supper, we’re going to sing to set the feast. Divine.

It is not in the book, but it will be on the slide to set the face. Divine we’ll sing the first and last verse.<inaudible> the bread and fresh food.<inaudible><inaudible> B<inaudible> the shrine. And<inaudible> the<inaudible> may we<inaudible> his dad are Holy<inaudible>. We see Stan Fe<inaudible> meaning your turn. And<inaudible> the<inaudible> H first day of the week,

as we gather to worship our God, our father we’re commanded to eat this bread, drink of this cup, to remember the death, burial, and resurrection of our savior. As we partake of this bread and this fruit of the vine with pride, that we would all reflect upon the death of Christ and that through his death, we have the hope of eternal life with our God.

Would you bow with me, our heavenly father. We truly thank you for Christ our savior. We thank you for this bread, which does your children represents the body of our savior. That was crucified Parsons. As we protect this bread, help each one of us to do it with a truth, truly thankful heart. For this sacrifice, these things we ask in Christ’s name,

amen. Would you bow with me again? Our heavenly, we continue our thanks for this fruit of the fine, which to us represents the blood of our savior. As we partake of it, help each one of us to do so in a manner that is pleasing and acceptable in these things we ask in Christ’s name, amen. It’s a separate part of our worship.

We have this opportunity to return onto her, our God, a part of that, that he blesses us with. And we know that every blessing we enjoy in this life comes from our God. Would you bow with me, our heavenly father. We thank you for every blessing that we have in this life. And we do know that each one of these come from the,

we know as a country, how we’re blessed. We pray us raver. We return under the, a part of that, that we have been blessed with, that we would do. So with a willing and cheerful heart, we pray that these fonts might be used to further the kingdom of your, these things we ask in Christ’s name. Amen. All right.

As long before, the last one will be number 470 417. And if you want to go ahead and Mark number 904, that will be the song of invitation, but we will sing number 470 before the lesson victory and Jesus will sing the first and last versus a 470. All right, let us sing. I heard an old, old story. How his savior came from glory,

how he gave his life on Calvary to save a wretch like me. I heard about his groaning of his precious blood toning, then Irie and my sins on one a Victori Oh, victory. Angie’s my se for Avar. He saw me and bought me with his reading blog. He loved me. I knew him and my love is due and he plunged me to victory beneath a cleansing.

FLA. I heard about a man Shan. He is built for me in glory. And I heard about the street of go beyond the crystal sea about the Joe’s saying Pam, the old redone John’s story and some sweet day. I’ll sing up there. The song, Victor green. Oh, victory. Jeez, my save your for Avar. He saw me and bought me with his reading blog.

He learned me air. I knew him and my love is do him. He plunged me to victory being Neetha cleansing flaw. Good morning. Imagine most of us, some point in our lives have walked through a building and have seen on the wall. Something that says in case of emergency break glass, the reality is that the point behind the sign, is there something behind the glass?

There’s something behind object That needs to be broken. That might Wait, save your life. And yet, in all of our lives, as Christians, we face adversity At times and whether constantly, or, or sporadically, we will find ourselves in the situation of being in adversity. And that situation is one that can be hard to deal with. It can be a struggle.

And a matter of fact, it is often a struggle because it is not a comfortable place. It is not a place where we find safety. It is a place where we Find struggle and yeah, Yet the scriptures speak of adversity and they speak of what we should do when we encounter it. So this morning, I want to look at adversity. Now,

before I get into what it is that we should do in times of adversity, I want to qualify a few things and I want to qualify what it is that I’m talking about. I’m not talking about adversity that comes when we bring adversity upon ourselves in the sense of when we sin and when God, because of our sin brings about judgment and adversity in our lives.

That’s not the kind of adversity we’re talking about this morning. The Israelites were told when they were there before the Mount, when they were being given the law, when Moses declared to them, if you will do these things, Leviticus, chapter 26, then God will bless you. And God will look favorably upon you and God will do all these things for you.

You will have blessings and not adversity. And yet, if you turn away from God, if you turn away from his covenant, then you will have all of these curses. And he describes to them in clear pictures, the adversity they will go through. If they would not obey There, God, that is not the adversity under discussion this morning. We’re also not specifically looking at adversity in the situation where someone comes against us because of something we’ve done to them.

If we have a situation, as Jesus describes where someone says, I have ought against you, you have done something wrong to me. And as a result of that, we’re now in a situation of adversity. We’re now in a situation where someone can drag us as Jesus illustrates it before the judge, But it’s our fault. He, you settle with The person right there.

You make it right right now because you are At fault. And if you don’t do it before you reach the judge, you’re going to find yourself in a worse situation. So solve the problem Between you and your brother immediately. That’s also not the adversity we’re speaking of this morning. Instead, we’re speaking of the adversity that we read about in James chapter one in James chapter one,

we read James of bond, servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ and To the 12 tribes, which are scattered abroad. My brethren count it all. Joy. When you fall into various trials, the adversity we are speaking of is the adversity that comes as a result, a natural result of being Obedient to God, Being obedient as a Christian and living the Christian life.

The writer James writes to these Christians and he says, first and foremost, when you encounter adversity, Count it a joy. Now this is something In opposition to our normal disposition, to our normal nature. Our natural response to adversity is to think, why am I going through this? Why am I going through this difficulty? Why are these people confronting me?

Why is this such a struggle? Why am I facing this TRIBE? And while adverse, He is a time of reflection. Ecclesiastes. Chapter seven speaks concerning that. The idea as when times are good, being able to be joyful, but when times are difficult, when adversity comes being able to reflect upon ourselves and see why it is that we’re going through it.

But if we examine ourselves as Joe did, when he looked at his own life and he looked at everything that he had done, and he saw the adversity he was going through, and he couldn’t find a reason in him, His life for his adversity, He couldn’t find a sin in his life. That was the cause. He couldn’t find the thing that he had done in opposition to God.

That would cause God to do this to him. When we find ourselves in that situation that he or sorry, James writes to these brethren and he says It all joy As we go through each step of these instructions that James provides us. One of the things I want to do is I want to look at An example In this case, turn just back a few pages in your Bibles to Jay,

to Hebrews chapter 12. And you’ll Find there an example in all the way through our lesson, we’re going to Use Christ as the, of Dealing with adversity. But in Hebrews chapter 12, Verse two, We find the Hebrew writer describing to these Christians, why they ought to be faithful, why they ought to do what’s right, why they ought to lay aside sin and get busy looking at the goal of eternity.

And he says in verse two, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the Now watch this phrase, the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. The Hebrew writer declares to us that Jesus Christ looked at the adversity of the cross. He looked at everything that he was going to have to go through.

And in looking at it, he determined to do it Because of the joy set before him. He looked at it adversity. He looked at a struggle. He looked at a difficult situation and in it he Found joy. One 19 speaks concerning This idea as the Psalmus writer Here in somewhat a different vein. But looking at This from the perspective of the word of God says this Psalm one 19 beginning in verse 66,

he says, teach me Good judgment and knowledge for, I believe your commandments. Before I was afflicted, I went astray, Right? Notice here, the, the, the Psalmist as he is pending this, he says I had a problem and I was ignoring it until you afflicted me until this affliction came, I was going astray. But now I’m aware of what I was doing wrong.

He says, before I was afflicted, I went astray. But now I Keep your word. You are good and do good. Teach me your statutes. The proud have forged a lie against me, but I will keep your precepts with all my whole heart. Their heart is as fat, as fat as grease, But I delight in your law. It is good for me.

Notice this. It is good for Me that I have been afflicted that I may learn your statutes. The Psalmus writer looks at the trials, the afflictions that he’s going through. And he says, I became aware of what I needed. I became aware of what I was missing. I became aware of what I was still lacking in my knowledge of you.

When affliction was brought on me, when I had to deal with this situation, when I was struggling in the midst of this affliction, I went to your word. I went to your word and I found What was missing in my Life. Turned to Hebrews chapter 13, the Hebrew writer again makes this declaration and Hebrews chapter 13, beginning in verse 13,

He says, let us go forth to him outside the camp, Bearing his reproach for here. We have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore by him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God. That is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. When James says you encounter trials, Count it all joy.

The Hebrew writer says, as we examine our situation, let us proceed outside the Gates to Christ. Let us go out to the place of reproach, where he was reproached and in his reproach, The cross, let us give thanks. So notice this path, Jesus went to the cross because he counted it joy to do that yet. Despite The shame we approach the cross and see what he did and we give praise to God.

And so we look at our adversity, we look at our trials and James says, You count it all joy, but then Consider the second thing that James identifies. And that is that when we come to adversity, in the case of adversity, we need to Let it work. As the Salmas writer was pointing out his adversity, his affliction brought to his realization,

What was still lacking, What it was in his life that he still needed to work on. And James writes in James chapter one beginning of verse three, knowing that the testing of your faith produces Patience. He says, as You examine this trial that you’re going in to, as you’re going through and enduring this, let it work because it’s going to produce something.

God is presenting this trial to you. He is presenting this affliction before you, he is presenting this obstacle so you can learn how To overcome it so That you can learn how to have patience. In hard times, Jesus would identify the need for those who were his disciples to be faithful in little things So that they might be faithful in great things. We need to learn in the difficulties and in the trials to allow those adversities,

those trials to work. But then he says, verse four, but let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete Lacking nothing. James identifies that the working the production of adversity is to produce perfection. It is to identify within our lives. The things that still need to be worked on God allows us to go through this adversity, this affliction,

this difficulty and endure those situations so that we might find the things where we are still lacking in turn over to Hebrews chapter five. Now, one thing I want to point out is this does not mean that God is afflicting us because of sin. You know, we pointed out the kind of affliction we’re not talking about. This is not an affliction that comes to cause us to repent.

It’s an affliction that comes to cause us to, To grow. I can’t express to you that there is pain in growth. Arm has been doing a process of growth as my bones knit themselves back together. And there is a painful process involved in growth. And yet the Hebrew writer Points out and Hebrews chapter five verses eight through nine, that this isn’t unique to us because again,

in the life of Christ, we see this very idea though. He was a son verse eight, yet he learned obedience by the things Which he suffered and having been perfected Hebrew. It came the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him. James says, when we fall into trials, when we fall into adversity, we need to allow it to work in us,

to produce perfection, to cause us, to see the areas where we must grow to become like Christ. And that Is one of the things that we should do in the midst of adversity. But Romans chapter 12, Romans chapter 12 identifies this singular idea that though James has referenced it, we’ll bring it forward Here as well. Romans chapter 12. And in verse 12,

he says, rejoicing in hope. As he writes to these Christians, he’s giving them a list of things they need to be fervent in and they need to be doing, they need to be focusing on. He says, be re those who are rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer. He identifies their patients. This idea here in the original language is one who stands up under a burden as God,

places before you a trial, he will not place before you one, you cannot endure and he expects you to stand up under it. He expects you to grow from it to become stronger by the trial that he places before you. So when adversity comes, we need to first count it a joy Second need to let it work. But we thirdly need to get understanding.

This is an integral ingredient to everything else that we’re discussing here until our perspective is right until we understand the situation, we will not handle it properly. James chapter one verse five says, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him, Oh God for hoops. Let me, let me reread that. Let me look at the right part of the page.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God Who gives to all liberally and without reproach. And it will Be given to him In the midst of this trial. As James presents, the difficulty that they may be enduring, that they may go through. He says, first of all, Canada joy. Secondly, realize that it’s working in you to produce perfection.

Thirdly, get wisdom, seek for wisdom. He says, if you’re lacking it, this should be apparent by how you’re dealing with the adversity. This should be identified by your adversity in your trial. He said, if you lack wisdom, ask God, Proverbs chapter four, Proverbs chapter four, the Proverbs writer says this verse seven. He says, wisdom is the principal thing.

Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting Get understanding Sets before his son, the one who’s the recipient of his Wisdom here in the book of Proverbs, The need to obtain wisdom, but not just wisdom for wisdom sake, not just wisdom to say I’m a wise man, but wisdom to obtain Understanding. And so as James points out these trials, as he points out these adversities,

this difficulty, he identifies the need For the product of wisdom, the need for understanding in Luke chapter 24, Jesus Is he is looking backward and explaining to his apostles why these things have occurred. We’ll identify this idea, Luke chapter 24, beginning in verse 44. Then he said to them, these are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you.

That all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and of the prophets and of the Psalms concerning me. So here he is, he’s gone through this crucifixion. He’s gone through a burial. He’s resurrected again. He’s now together with the apostles and he’s explaining to them, reminding them of the things he’s already taught them before he went through all of it,

but they didn’t get the point. They didn’t understand these things. And so he brings them to mind to tell them everything that Moses and the prophets and the Psalms spoke concerning me had to be fulfilled in those what he said. And he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the scriptures. Then he said to them, thus, it is written and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day.

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. He identifies the goal and connects it to the adversity. So they might understand They end the necessity. So many times we look at adversity and struggle and difficulty in our life and we can’t figure out why we would ever need to go through this. Why we would ever need to endure such a difficult thing.

It is In that moment that we are to realize Our lack of understanding our lack of wisdom, right? And is that moment where we are to become like the Psalmus described himself in Psalm one 19 and go to the word of God, to seek out the answer, to find out what we’re missing. Because our lack of understanding brings forward. Our need for growth.

James says, when you endure these trials, you need to understand their value. You need to understand what they can do for you. But the only way you can gain that understanding Is to get wisdom from God turned to Jay. Second, Timothy, sorry. Second Timothy chapter three, verse 12. As Paul writes to this young preacher instead, Megan,

Timothy chapter three. And in verse 12, he writes to him and encourages him by saying this. He says, yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ. Jesus will suffer persecution. If you skip back to verse 10, he says, but you have carefully followed my Doctrine. Manner of life, Purpose, faith, long suffering, love perseverance,

persecutions afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch at<inaudible> what persecutions I endured and out of them, all The Lord delivered me. He said, Timothy, you’ve been with me. You’ve watched me. You Ben, a careful observer of everything I’ve gone through. And now you need to know to expect it in your life. Yes, You need to know that all who desire to live godly in Christ,

Jesus will in Dewar persecution. He says, buddy evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of knowing from whom you have learned them as he presents Timothy, with this reality of persecution, this reality of adversity, this reality of struggle. He presents to him the reminder of the source of College.

He says, you go back to the things you’ve learned. You go Back to the things you’ve been taught. You go back to what you have been told because in it, you will find the underst Meaning you need to endure. But then James also identifies a fourth thing. As he says that we are to count it all joy. He also says that we are to let it work.

He also shows that we are to get understanding. He fourthly shows that we To pray in faith. Now, in this context, he specifically stating this in view of the wisdom he says we were to ask for from God. So let’s go back to verse five. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach.

And it will be given to him, but let him ask in faith with no doubting for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed By the wind for let, Not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man unstable in all his, His ways. James identifies the necessity of prayer in faith.

As this individual, as he describes, it goes through adversity. As he seeks for understanding, as he seeks for wisdom to endure that adversity, he needs to ask from the Lord, but in everything that he asks for from the Lord, he needs to pray. He needs to Ask in confidence in faith, In assurance that God is able to do the thing that he asked and Hebrews chapter five,

we see Christ again, as an example of this, as we returned back to Hebrews chapter five, we read verses eight and nine previously, but I want to go back to verse seven. In verse seven, we read who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with the HemOnc cries and tears to him, God,

the father who was able to save him from death And Was heard because of his godly fear. No, this is what we read concerning Christ. In this passage, we read that in the midst of this adversity that he was facing in the midst of the necessity of going to the cross in the midst of knowing that this was necessary to fulfill all righteousness,

to fulfill what Moses had written and what the prophets had written and what the Psalm was had written to bring forth salvation. Yet he still desired to have that cup pass from him. And so he prayed and asked that God do that very thing. But notice this statement about God who was a bull, you might say, well, wait, No, no,

that’s not that can’t possibly be true. God could not have chosen To not have Jesus die. Oh yes. He could have, If Jesus Christ prayed three times for an hour, each time let this cup pass from me. He prayed it because it was possible, But the possibility required something else you see, because if it was possible that it happened,

the result would have been that we would not be saved. Oh, what was possible? And God could have done it. And Jesus knew he could have. But the difference is Jesus prayed in faith knowing God was able, but also knowing God and his will, would ultimately be what would happen. And so he prayed not my will, but yours be done in Daniel chapter three,

Hannah and I as Ryan, Michelle stand before Nebuchadnezzar and they are confronted with a choice either you will down when the music plays and you will worship this image that I have created, or you will be Passed into this fiery furnace that I have set up And Daniel or sorry, Hannah and I, as Ryan Michelle in the book of Daniel will reply to Navigant answer that their God was able to save Them.

But they point out, even if he doesn’t, you see, they have this assurance of their God, that their God is more than capable. They’re God good deliver them from this fiery furnace. And he would, but they had no guarantee that he would, they knew he was capable of doing it. They had hopes and plans that he would certainly do it,

But they knew all of them, Ultimately that no matter what, whether God did it or not, they would not bow down to Napa cancer’s image. You see, they had confidence. They had confidence that God was able and that God’s will, would be done the same way. Jesus did turn over to Hebrews chapter four in Hebrews chapter four, after speaking concerning Christ,

as our high priest, the Hebrew writer says, let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of, I need in the midst of adversity, we are told to pray. And we are told to pray, not with doubting, not with a lack of faith, but with confidence that God can do what we ask turn over to Hebrews chapter 10,

Hebrews chapter 10 beginning in verse 21. We read this and having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near draw near to what near to God, Let us draw near to God with a true heart in full Assurance of faith. Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. The Hebrew writer says Your salvation in this new and living leg created by God in this salvation that he offers you through Christ.

You have confidence to come near to him and You can hold fast without wavering to that hope and that salvation until the end, but then consider number five. He says, remember your reward. Now we need to skip to the end of the book of James to get this over in James chapter five beginning in verse nine, we read do not grumble again,

or sorry against one another brethren lest you Be condemned. Behold, judge is standing at the door. My brethren take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example, and notice and example of suffering and patience. Well, what’s he talking about in James chapter one, suffering and patience, adversity trials, and enduring them. He says,

take the profits. As an example, who spoke in the name of the Lord and suffered as an example for you in what they did. He said, indeed, we count them. Blessed who endure? You have heard of the perseverance of job and have seen the end intended by the Lord that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. As James writes to these brethren and he presents to them having gone through all of the practical things that he’s instructed them about concerning in this book,

he points them back to the prophets and says, now you look, you look at those profits and you look at how we view them and those who in Those hard times, and what did they do? They looked for the reward. They looked for what came After the adversity and after Their endurance turned back to Hebrews chapter 12. And again, we see Christ.

And yet We see the example of Christ as exemplified for us in our instruction. Go back to verse one. He says, therefore, we also see he’s writing to these Christians. He says, here’s your, here’s what you are to do. Here’s what you’re to learn from these people in Hebrews 11. This is what you’re to do. Hebrews chapter 12,

verse one. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great, a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin, which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance. The race that is set before us. How, how do we lay aside the things that are wrong? How do we set aside the things that are slowing us down?

How do we do this? Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. He says, you run the race. You lay aside the way you set aside the sin, because you’re looking To the roll ward.

Remember in the midst of adversity, the reward set before you, but then six Lee. And finally, we need to remember others in their adversity. See, because as we go through life, as we grow, as we allow adversity to produce perfection in us, we need to remember that we are not the only ones who ever go through adversity. So often we will be so focused on enduring adversity,

our struggles, all our, our difficulties that we’ll miss someone else who’s going through there Own adversity. And So James tells these brethren beginning in James chapter five, and in verse 13, to remember The others who Are going through adversity, he says, verse 13 is any among you suffering. Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing. Psalms is anyone among you?

Sick. Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him. Anointing him with oil in the S in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another. Pray for one another,

that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain. And it did not rain on the land for three and a half or three years in six months. And he prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the earth produced its fruit brethren.

If any, among you wanders from the truth. And someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his ways will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins all throughout this passage. As he encourages those who are sick, those who are struggling, those who are sending those who are in the midst of difficulty,

the encourages them to do these things. There’s a focus on what Christians can Do for Christians. Peter Brings forward to this idea as well. In second, Peter chapter three, I’m sorry. First Peter chapter four, first Peter chapter four, Peter, Or as he is writing to these Christians says beginning in verse 12, beloved, do not think it’s strange concerning the fiery trial,

which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice, to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad With exceeding joy. He says, as you look at what’s happening, as you look at what you’re going to go through, you don’t seem no don’t allow it to make you think this is strange that this is an anomaly,

that this is only happening to you. But instead understand that Christ went through this before you, and that you can endure it with Joy. We need to remember those Who are going through adversity, Hebrews chapter 13, Hebrews Chapter 13, once again, this time. And in verse three, He says, remember, remember the prisoners as if change With what’s he talking about,

He’s talking about Christians, who for the cause of Christ have been faithful to God. And as a result have been imprisoned. Those who are suffering in a real way. And he tells these brethren who were free, who were walking around, who were struggling with their own little struggles, but who had not suffered until the point of blood. He says,

you remember Those who Are in chains and you don’t remember them as if they’re some strange thing of far off. You remember them as if you were chained right next to them in saying this, he exemplifies for us that in the midst of someone else’s adversity, we are to put ourself in their position and say, if it was Me, what would I want them to do for me?

He says, Remember the prisoners as if chained with them, those who are mistreated since you yourselves are in the body. Also, why are we to do this? Because we are Brethren and Hebrews Chapter 10 beginning in verse 24. Again, the Hebrew writer reminds us of how we are to act towards our brother. And he says, let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,

not forsaking. The assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of somebody exhorting one another and so much. The more as you see the day approaching, he says, you look at one another, you consider one another. You pay attention To the needs of the Each other. But then one more time over in Romans chapter 12, Romans chapter 12, as Paul writes to the church at Rome,

he says this in verse 15, he says rejoice With those who do rejoice and weep with those who weep in the midst of adversity, we need to remember others who are going through their own adversity as you and I look at our lives. As we live our lives as Christians, we can be assured of one thing. Paul identifies it, that as Those who live godly in Christ Jesus,

we will Have adversity. And yet it’s how we go through it. That is important. And It’s what we allow it to do to Us. That helps us to become what God would have us to be. If you’re outside the body of Christ this morning, you’re outside of the place of redemption and hope. You’re outside of the church that Christ died for.

He died for the church that you might have salvation in his body. You enter into his body by hearing the word of God and believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God. By repenting of your sins, confessing the name of Christ and being immersed in water for the remission of your sins. But if you’re a Christian and you’re going through adversity, here’s one thing you need to know.

You don’t have to go through it alone. The church is here for you in your difficulties, in your trials and in your adversities. And one of the things I love about this congregation is no one goes through difficult times by themselves. If anyone else knows they’re going through it, if you have need of help of prayers for the same, or from the SANEs or of repentance,

why not come now as we stand and as we sing, Are you fully trusting in his grace this hour? Are you a wash? And the blood of the lamb? Are you in, in the so cleansing, but<inaudible> are your garments bond lists? Are they ass? No. Are you all washed and blah, blah. Lay a side. The garments that are stained with sand<inaudible> are you fountain flowing for the us clean?

Oh, be washed in the blood of the lamb.<inaudible> and so<inaudible> are your garments spotless? Are they wide ass? No. Are you a washed and blah, thank you, Aaron. For that great lesson closing song this morning is going to be number 711. We’ll sing the first verse only number 711, and then we’ll have our closing. Prayer will speak the Tyler that binds.

Let us bless be<inaudible> John, the family. Hello shit.<inaudible> that? God, our father in heaven, we come to you at this time, thanking you for the opportunity to this morning, to assemble here in this house of worship and sing songs, appraised your great name and study a portion of your word. God, we know there are many amongst us that are struggling with various things,

health reasons, especially. And we ask if it’d be your will, that you help them recover to a measure health that they so desire. And we ask also that you wrap your loving arms around them. And those that have lost loved ones in the recent past, you wrap your comforting, loving arms around them and provide comfort to them that only you can.

And God we know that each and every one of us as we go about our daily lives come across struggles and turmoil and various events that we occasionally don’t know how to deal with. And we ask that you help us to remember this lesson, that brother Aaron brought us this morning, and that is to come to you and seek you, seek your wisdom,

your guidance, and pray to you. Faithfully that you, as we do know, will help us to resolve our conflicts with those that we encounter out there in the world. And with our struggles asked that we take the wisdom that you provide to us and figure out what it is that you want us to do and go on with our lives, serving you here on earth.

We know that there are times that we fall short of your glory. And when we come to you asking for forgiveness of sins, we ask that you please forgive us to them. And as we prepare to depart here this morning, we ask that you guys garden direct each and every one of us and safeguard us until we return at the next appointed time.

We pray this through your son, Jesus name. Amen.

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12-13-2020 – Live Stream – Hebrews 7-8 (Class) & In Case of Adversity: DO THIS (Sermon)

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams, Sermons, The Book of Hebrews by Aaron Cozort

HEBREWS – Hebrews 5-6
Encouragement

  1. What was the job of the human high priest? For whom did he offer sacrifices? Hebrews 5:1-3 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  2. Who is the high priest forever? According to what order is Christ a high priest?
    Hebrews 5:6, 10; 6:20 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  3. (yes or no) Did Jesus obey the Father?
    Whom should persons obey now? Hebrews 5:8-9 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  4. Immature Christians are said to need _____________ for food.
    Mature Christians are said to need _____________ for food. Hebrews 5:12-14
    ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  5. Those persons to whom the writer of Hebrews addressed (a) had ministered in the past, (b) were ministering at the present time, or (c) had never ministered. Hebrews 6:10 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  6. Why did the Hebrew writer encourage the hearers to exert faith and patience? Hebrews 6:11-12 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  7. What is the “anchor of the soul”? Hebrews 6:19 ________________________________________________________________

HEBREWS – Hebrews 7-8
Jesus Is a Better High Priest; Jesus Is a Better Covenant

  1. How much did Abraham give Melchizedek? How much were the people to give the priests? Hebrews 7:1-5 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  2. (yes or no) Was it necessary to change the Law of Moses when the priesthood was changed? Hebrews 7:12 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  3. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  4. What things did the Law of Moses make perfect? Hebrews 7:19
    ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  5. Why were there great numbers of priests under the Law of Moses?
    Why, under the new covenant, is there only one high priest?
    How often did the high priest, under the Law of Moses, offer up sacrifices for sins?
    How often did Jesus offer sacrifice for sins? Hebrews 7:23-24, 27 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  6. Who pitched the earthly tabernacle? Where is the “true tabernacle”?
    The Law of Moses was a _________ and ______ of the heavenly things.
    Hebrews 8:2, 5 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  7. Jesus is the ______________ of the new covenant.
    Discuss the first covenant and the need for a second. Hebrews 8:6-7 ________________________________________________________________

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible> good morning. We are in the book of Hebrews<inaudible>. We will go over the questions for chapters five and six, but we’re going to wait and do it after we finished chapter six, since we didn’t get there on, on Wednesday. So we’re gonna kinda move through the end of chapter six, then we’ll go look at the questions and then we’ll enter into seven and eight and we’ll see.

We’ll see. All right, let’s begin with a word of prayer. Our gracious, mindful father in heaven. We are so grateful for all of your many blessings for all of the things that we have in this life that we do not even fully understand and appreciate that you do for us on a daily basis. We’re mindful of this time of those who are dealing with illnesses,

those families that are dealing with the loss of loved ones or loved ones in critical condition, we pray that you will be with them in this difficult time. We pray that you be with those who at this time of the year have struggles and, and cares and concerns because of lost loved ones that come to mind. And we pray that you will give them comfort and strength as well.

We pray that you watch over us as we go through this period of study, may the things that we say and the things that we learn, be those things that you would have us to learn and be those things which are in accordance with your will. And may we always strive to live in a way that is in accordance with the scriptures that you have given to us all this,

we pray in Jesus name, amen.<inaudible> Chapter six. We made it really just down to verse six, where the Hebrew writer says, if we, if they fall away to renew them again to repentance, actually, let’s go back to verse four, just to make a full, full sentence for it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy spirit and have tasted of the good word of God and of the powers of the age to come.

And if taste, if they fall away to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves, the son of God, and put him to an open shame for the earth, with drink, which drinks in the rain. I’m having a hard time reading this morning for the earth, which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated receives blessings from God.

But if it bears thorns and briers is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burdened. The analogy here at the end of this section is valuable to us to get the point, okay? Because the Hebrew writer is he is describing these people who he says it is impossible to renew to repentance. We’ll give you a clear picture in the analogy,

because what is it he describes. He describes either the plants that come forth, taking the soil, taking the blessings of God and out of that, they bring forth good fruit or the plans that come forth, taking the blessings from God and the blessings from the soil and bear for earth. What thorns and briers and this hearkens back to an analogy that Jesus made.

Jesus said, if you, as a, as a vine grow up and you bear forth, no fruit or evil fruit, what does he say is going to happen to you? You’re going to be burned up. You’re going to be uprooted and cast into the fire. Now this declaration of impossibility, as we talked about on Wednesday, goes back to the,

the, the commandment or the declaration from God. Then none of these Israelites that came out of Egypt that came to the edge of the promised land. He said, none of them are going to go into my promised land. And he said, it’s going to happen bringing together what the Hebrew writer says because of their rebellion and unbelief. It didn’t matter if they repented.

It didn’t matter if they turned back. It didn’t matter if they said, I’m sorry. God said, you’re not entering my rest. It was impossible. They were not getting another opportunity. But the discussion of would they repent, did they repent really hinges on the fact of what happened to that generation? Because though they would get in a fix, they would repent.

They would turn around. They would say, I’m sorry, but then what will they do? They turn right back to rebelling again. And the Hebrew writer declares them to have an evil heart of on belief. He said, the problem was not their unwillingness to change. It was that ultimately their heart was unwilling to submit to God. And so here,

that analogy really gives us a clear picture of what he’s saying. He said, if your heart is the problem, if you take the blessings of God and produce evil fruit, the problem is not the fruit. The problem is what’s inside you. Okay? So the same analogy that Jesus makes that the one who bears evil fruit, though, he’s given all the blessings of God though.

He’s tended by the vineyard keeper though. He’s the one that you know, is inside the vineyard of, of, of God. He said, if he bears evil fruit, he’s going to be ripped up, pulled out. And because his heart is the problem. So the Hebrew writer is telling us, as long as you have a heart that will not obey God.

It doesn’t matter what you change by way of your actions. You cannot be renewed to repentance because the renewal begins in the heart. You can change the outward person. You can change the activities. You can change the actions, but heart is still the problem until the heart changes. That person can’t be renewed to repentance. That person cannot be restored Lord,

because their heart is the problem. Okay? So ultimately in, in all of this discussion, the disc discussion revolves around someone who has is so as the, as the scripture uses the term hard hearted, that God’s actions will not penetrate there. Hardheartedness as the example would be, they see the sea parted before they see the plagues in Egypt, they see all the things,

God, it does. And yet they still won’t believe him. Okay? Now verse nine. But beloved having said all of this, having said, you’re too dull of hearing. Having said that you may be so hard-hearted that you’ll be like those in Israel, who are those Israelites who couldn’t enter God’s rest. Having said all of those things he says,

but beloved, we are confident a better things concerning you. Yes. Things that accompany salvation, though, we speak in this manner, having chastised them, having rebuked them for their inability to hold on, to and, and obtain the meat of the word. Having rebuke them for constantly, always having to be taught. Instead of being teachers, he then brings them back to this and says,

but I know you can do better. I know you will do better. I know you’re not like those people in the old Testament for God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love, which you have shown toward his name in that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. And we believe that each of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope under the end that you do not become sluggish,

but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. So he says, you’ve got examples in front of you. You’ve got, yeah, those who are leading you down the road path now followed them, do what they do. And he said, you’ve ministered. You’ve served in the past. And I know you’ll serve. Now. I know you have a heart willing to do for others.

One of the things that is an attribute of the Israelites in the rebellion and in that first-generation was, it was always about themselves. One of the things that they failed in was a willingness to do to suffer for others, benefit everyone, every single complaint, every single murmuring, every single grumbling, every single uproar against Moses always was rooted in selfishness. And so the Hebrew runner identifies in these Christians,

the exact opposite attribute. He said, you may not be everything you need to be in your knowledge. You may not be everything you need to be in your understanding and in your learning, your service indicates something about your heart. And so that, that is where he tacks on his, his confidence in them that if they will continue to serve, if they will continue to act in the way they have acted in the past,

they have still a hope and assurance of the promises of God. So then he says, verse 13, when God made a promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no one greater. He swore by himself saying, surely blessing. I will bless you. And multiplying, I will multiply you as he’s just described the impossibility of God, declaring a person who will not enter his rest to ever be restored to that.

Rest. God said there is no way you, as an Israelite in that first-generation are going to enter the promised land. And there was no, there was nothing they could do that would overact or countermand God’s decision to the same extent that they had assurance that they would never enter. God’s rest in that. First-generation now he turns around to say, but just as great,

the assurance is that God says you’re judged that first-generation his judgment would be so the same greatness of God’s assurance. He is in his promise of a reward. If you could look at that first-generation and there was no chance, there was nothing they were going to do to counteract what God said. You can look at the promises of God and know there’s just as much as surety to the one who’s found faithful that they will enter God’s rest.

So, you know, example could be, if we kind of pulled this forward back to the, to the first generation that left Egypt, Joshua and Caleb, their faithfulness. So mandated that just as much as the, the rest of the population would not enter God’s rest, they would because of their faithfulness, they had as much as surety as the other people did just for the opposite,

the opposite result. Okay? So he describes here Abraham. He says for when God made a promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no one greater. He swore by himself saying, surely blessing. I will bless you. And multiplying, I will. This comes from Genesis 22. And so after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise for men indeed swear by the greater and an oath for confirmation is for them.

And end of all, dispute thus God determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise. The immutability of his counsel can by an oath that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay, hold on the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul,

both sure. And steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil, where the 4runner has entered for us. Even Jesus, having become high priest forever, according to the order of milk. So first of all, what is the word immutability mean? Common, everyday word for all of us, right? Changeable. He says by these two unchangeable things,

God’s word and God’s oath by these two unchangeable things. God swore that his rest, his promise would be available, but it uses Abraham. As the example, he says, surely blessing. I will bless you and multiplying. I will multiply you skills back to the promise of God, to Abraham, to give him a son. Now, what age was Abraham?

When God made them Promise initially 75, 75, What age was he? When he fulfilled the promise? 125 years later, as one, one, preacher put it. He said, if you make a promise to a 75 year old, most of us would say, you better hurry up and actually fulfill that promise. There is going to be too late,

but with God, he didn’t, he didn’t hurry up, let alone, he waited another 25 years. The point being the assurance was because God said it, it was going to happen. And here we have the Hebrew writer saying just as much as Abraham could be assured that God was going to give him a son. So also we have an assurance and our assurance is tied to what<inaudible> All right.

But the assurance is tied to the anchor of the soul. Jesus having entered in ahead of us. Okay. Notice what he says here in verse 16 there, sorry. Verse, verse 19. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure. Instead fast. And which enters the presence beyond behind the veil where the 4runner has entered for us.

Even Jesus, remember back over in<inaudible> I’m going to forget where this was.<inaudible> Yes. Chapter four, chapter four, verse 14. Seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast. Our confession for we do not have a high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses,

but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin, let us therefore come boldly before the throne of grace that we may find mercy or may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. He said, here’s why we can have boldness to enter the throne of God. Here’s why we can have boldness to seek God’s help because we have a high priest,

Jesus Christ. Who’s passed through the heavens. He’s gone ahead of us. So also we have an anchor over in eternity for our hope. Our assurance is because Christ went ahead of us. We can go where he is. You remember what Jesus told the apostles in John chapter 14. He said, where I go? You can’t go yet. But if I go,

I’m going to prepare a place for you. And when I come back, I’m going to receive you to myself. His going was our confidence, our hope, our anchor, as it were we using the analogy of the ship. If you want to ship, to stay where it needs to be. If you want a ship to stay in one place,

the only way to do it is to drop an anchor. Well, once that anchor’s dropped, as long as that ship stays attached to that anchor, that ship is staying in that place. It’s a sherd. It steadfast. It won’t move well. If our anchor was, as it were carried into eternity by Christ, then what do we have to worry about?

When the storms of life, the difficulties of life, the treachery of life comes and beats on our whole. We don’t have anything to worry about why our anchor is already in heaven. Okay? So our hope, our assurance is steadfast to the end. All right, there is much, much, much more that we can say about that, but we’re going to go through the questions and move on to chapter seven.

What was the job of the human high priest?<inaudible> All right. Offer gifts and sacrifices for sin for whom did he offer sacrifices Himself and all the people who is the high priest forever. All right. Jesus Christ. According to what order is Christ a high priest? No kids. A deck. Yes or no. Did Jesus obey the father? Yes.

Whom should persons obey now?<inaudible> Yeah. Christ or the father either, either one of those, just depending on how you’re reading the, the, the, him there. Immature Christians are said to need blank for food milk, mature. Christians are said to need blank for food, strong meat, those persons to whom the writer of Hebrews addressed a had ministered in the past be were ministering at the present time.

Or C had never ministered. Say that again. A and B, why did the Hebrew writer encourage the hearers to exert faith and patience?<inaudible> To inherit the problem promises and what is the anchor of the soul? All right. Jesus having entered heaven. So the Hebrew writers told them, I can’t tell you about middle kids, a deck yet, because you’re too dull of hearing.

Then he puts before them, the ultimate outcome of if they have a heart of rebellion, then he says, but we have confidence in you that you won’t be that way. Then he says, Abraham was assured of his promises and God fulfilled them. Then he says, Jesus Christ has entered into heaven. And he’s our anchor of the soul. He’s our hope.

Our assurance from God. Now he’s going to return back to McGee is the deck again, okay? Because he’s not going to give up on this. He wants them to change their heart. So they’re able to hear what he has to say about Christ. He stood for this milk is a deck King know Salem priest of the most high who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the Kings and blessed him to whom also Abraham gave a 10th part of all first being translated,

King of righteousness, and then also King of Salem, meaning King of priest without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life, but may length. The son of God remains a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a 10th of the spoils. This is going to be one of those where we can go much deeper if we had time,

but we don’t. So we’re going to kind of summarize what’s here. Milk is a deck enters in to the biblical record with no parentage, no description of where he came from. No description of who his father was. No description of who is his children were no description of his lineage. He shows up in the life of Abraham, and then we never read about him again,

other than in the Psalms, looking forward to the Messiah. And so the Hebrew writer says here, we have this man who have no, no parents, no descendants by way of the record. He’s he’s not like Abraham who you, you begin with Abraham and you can work your way backwards to Adam. You can begin with Abraham and work your way forward,

all the way to Christ. You have a lineage with Aaron. You could go back to Levi and then go all the way back to Abraham. Then go all the way back to Adam with Levi and Erin, you could go with the high priesthood all the way forward to that present day, you have this lineage, but not with milk is a deck with no kids.

Yeah. That you have one who stands alone as a priest of the most high God. And his point is who made him a priest? It wasn’t who his father was. It wasn’t who his grandfather was. It wasn’t who his ancestor was or who his descendants would be. Who made him a high priest. God did. Okay. The Hebrew writer is struggling with these people,

these readers to make sure they understand that they don’t need to go back to the law of Moses. So they can have a high priest who stands physically in front of them. They need a high priest. Who’s appointed by God. And so he goes to milk his deck and he says, here’s your example. And it’s not just the Hebrew writer going.

Ah, I think this will be a good example. He’s going to use Psalm. I think it’s one Oh four as the, the connection, the prophecy Connect smoke is a deck to Christ. Okay. So he’s going to write to these people and he’s going to tell them about this King, because the reality is, as he draws forward here in chapter seven Moses’s law would never allow a priest to be a King and a Moses’s law would never allow it King to be a priest.

And yet they have a King and priest reigning right now. So if they go back to the law, they have to give up their King and their priests. If they stay with their King and their priest, they have to give up the law. He’s putting them in a, in a choice where they have to give up one or the other, if they can’t have both and they need to see that.

Okay. So he talks about who’s greater for the Hebrew mindset. Moses was great, but Abraham was greater because without Abraham, you have no Moses. Moses was not the one that God said, I will make you a blessing to all nations that wasn’t said to Moses that was said to Abraham. Moses was not the one who was told in your seed nations of the earth will be blessed.

Abraham was so for the Jew. Moses is great, but Abraham is greater. Yeah. The argument is you see Moses, and then you see Abraham is greater. And yet Abraham had someone who was greater than him, even in his this day. And it was bell Kizza deck. Okay? So this path of greatness in the Jewish mindset is what the Hebrew writer’s going to tie onto to say,

Mel Kislyak deck was greater than Abraham and Jesus is after the order of no kids, a deck and not Abraham. Okay. So watch what he says. First of all, he describes my kid’s dead. Cause we just read then verse five, actually, let’s go with verse four. Now, consider how great. Now notice here, we’re in a discussion of greatness,

how great this man was.<inaudible> deck to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a 10th of spoils. You do not take of your possessions and give TRIBE the mute to someone who’s lesser than you. You don’t do that. You don’t say I see this. We ban over here. He has no power. He has no authority. He has no substance.

And yet I’m going to give a 10th of all that I have to him in honor of him. No, no, no. That’s not what you do. Instead, you see someone who as Abraham did, who’s a priest of the most high God. Who’s a King. And you say, because of your greatness, I will give you this tribute.

Okay? So notice Abraham is recognizing no kids at X greatness by his actions. And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi who received the priesthood, have a commandment to receive ties from the people. According to the law. That is from their brethren though, they have, from the loins of Abraham, he says, you look at the rust of the gifts and the blessings that the Levi’s receive.

They receive a 10th of everything. They received the time from all the people, but their brethren. They’re not really receiving that because they’re greater. They’re all descendants of Abraham. And yet here, Abraham gives it to my kids, a deck as one who is greater. Okay. Now notice what he says, but he, whose genealogy is not derived from them.

Received ties from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. Now beyond all contradiction, the lesser is blessed by the better here mortal men receive ties, but there he receives them of whom it is witnessed that he lives even Levi who receives ties, paid times through Abraham. So to speak for. He was still in the loins of his father when my kids met him.

All right. So the point of the analogy, art, Mel kids deck is greater than Abraham because Abraham paid ties to Mel kids. A deck and point, Mel Kizza deck is greater than Abraham because Mel Kizza deck blessed Abraham, and you don’t have the one who’s lesser blessing. The one who’s greater, you don’t have the peasant comes to the King and says,

let me give you a blessing. You have the peasant who comes to the King and says, give me a blessing because the King is greater than the peasant. Okay? Here’s the analogy. You have Abraham receiving a blessing from his neck. That means mocha has X greater than Abraham. You have Abraham giving a time to<inaudible>. That means my kids deck is greater than Abraham.

You have a Levi. Who’s a descendant of Abraham who hasn’t even been born yet. And the third analogy is you. The, the Hebrew writer says in essence, because Levi descends from Abraham, you have Levi giving a time to Mel kids, a deck because he’s not even born yet, yet. The one who’s greater than him, his ancestor Abraham gives a time to make his day.

So the three points are those three ideas. The time, the blessing and the imposter clarity. Since the time of Levi all given the milk kids, a deck indicating kids, a deck was greater than Abraham. And the analogy drawing forward then is Jesus Christ is a high priest, not after the low, the line of Levi, but of the great line of milk is a deck.

Okay? So that’s about as quick as I can summarize that. Therefore he says verse 11, if perfection we’re through the Levitical priesthood for under it, the people receive the law. What further need was there for another than another priest should arise? According to the order of<inaudible>. Now this Hawk hearkens back to Psalms. Psalms says, there’s going to be another priest he’s coming.

He’s coming after the order of<inaudible>. Now wait a minute. If the live local political priesthood descendants true, Aaron is perfect. Is all that we need then why is it there is here in the Psalms, a prophecy of a greater priesthood. There, there has to be a greater priesthood or there wouldn’t be a replacement of the current priesthood. You don’t replace something that’s greater with something that’s inferior.

Nobody takes their bright, shiny, new, very expensive car and says, you know what? I’m ready to trade it in for a dump that doesn’t work. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You don’t do that. You don’t trade in the perfect for the worse. But if you’ve traded in one for something that you see as better,

it indicates there was something wrong with the first one, the Levitical priesthood. So then notice, he says for the priesthood being changed of necessity, there is also a change of the law for he, of whom these things are spoken, belongs to another tribe from which no man has officiated at altar for. It is evident that our Lord arose from Judah of which TRIBE Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.

And it is yet far more evident. If in the likeliness of many kids, a deck there arises another priest who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life for he testifies, you are a priest forever. According to the order of Melchizedek for on the one hand, there is a knowing of the former commandment because of its weakness and it’s unprofitable illness for the law made nothing perfect.

On the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to God, okay? Again, one of these passages where we could spend an entire class period, but let’s summarize it to point these things out. First of all, he says, if you change the priesthood of Aaron, you must change the law. You must must remove the law with the priesthood goes,

the law with the law goes to the priesthood. You cannot separate them. You cannot. If we were going to bring it forward to a current analogy and court case in our day in time before the Supreme court, they had the court case to see whether or not they could cut out the mandate from the affordable care act. Okay? The whole discussion is can this be removed and leave the rest intact?

Can we remove that piece and keep the rest of the law? Well, under the law, Moses, you couldn’t, you couldn’t cut out the priesthood and keep the law. You couldn’t do it because there’s no other substitute. The law made no opportunity for a different priest from a different tribe. And so he says, evident, it’s clear. We,

we can see that Jesus Christ came from Judah and the law made no provision for a priest out of Judah. So we can’t get rid of the Levitical priesthood and keep the law. Can’t have Jesus Christ as priest under the law. Therefore for him to be priest, we have to remove the law. We have to take all of it and put it aside.

And yet he says, don’t, don’t look at this as though this is a bad thing because in taking away the law in its deficiencies, in its failures, he’s in some thing. And there’s our word better. Okay. All the way through here. The whole point is Jesus Christ. His law, his priesthood, his salvation is better than what came Moses.

Okay. So he says For on the one hand verse 18, there isn’t a knowing of the former commandment because of its weaknesses and unprofitable illness. So there’s the inferiority of the law for the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to God. And in as much as he was not made priest without an oath for,

they have become priests without an oath. Excuse me, let me read that again. And in as much as he was not made a priest without an oath for, they have become priest without an oath, but he, with an oath by him who said to him, the Lord has sworn and will not relent. You are a priest forever. According to the order of Melchizedek,

by so much more, Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. Okay? So he’s hearkening back to this reality that he’s described of Aaron’s priesthood. They became a priest by being born by being born. A descendant of Aaron, Jesus became a priest by an oath from God. God’s oath is what’s being described here. And so, because he’s become a priest by an oath of God,

he has a greater covenant than Aaron does. So the Lord has sworn and will not relent. You are priest forever. According to the order of Melchizedek, verse 23. Also, there were many priests because they were prevented by death from continuing as he talks about the priesthood. One of the deficiencies that it says you had to keep replacing Them. You,

you you’d Have one priest and then he died and you needed another priest and he died and you needed another priest. Not Jesus. He’s a priest For forever On ending without death. But he verse 24 because he continues forever has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost, those who come to God, through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Imagine you were the person who was reliant on a priest to go before God reliant on the high priest for the forgiveness of your sins, for the, for the intercessory act that he makes on behalf of you for the offering of sacrifice. And just as you’re preparing to enter into eternity to stand before God, your high priest, No. What are you going to do?

Your intercessors gone. He’s dead. But the Hebrew writer says not with Christ. He’s always there to make intercession for you. Surely we’re going to get that with chapter eight, right? All right. Therefore, he is also able to save to the uttermost. Those who come to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them, for such a high priest was fitting for us,

who is Holy harmless, undefiled separate from sinners and has become higher than the heavens who does not need daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins. And then for the peoples, for this, he did once for all, when he offered up himself for the law appoints as high priest, men who have weaknesses, but the word of the oath,

which came after the law, appoints the son who has been perfected for forever. So again, he goes back to the Psalms and he says, here’s, here’s the law of Moses in time. Here’s the law of Moses. Here’s the priesthood. All of these things are in existence, but then sometime later here, God makes this oath and the oath identifies the problems,

but it also sets forth a better solution. Now this is the main point of the things we are saying. We have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens. If he’s a high priest and yet he seated at the right hand of the throne, He’s a priest and King, Okay. That’s the identification here,

a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord erected and not man for every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this one also have something to offer. This is the priest. Wasn’t just an honorary position. He had a service, he had a ministering or a ministry to fulfill for.

If he verse four we’re on earth, he would not be a hype or would not be a priest. Since there are priests who offer the gifts, according to the law who serve the copy and the shadow of the heavenly things as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle for, he said, see that you make all things, according to the pattern shown you on the mountain,

but now he has obtained a more excellent ministry in as much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which is established on better promises. So he said, if Jesus was alive on this earth, he couldn’t be a priest. He’s up the wrong TRIBE. And there’s already a priesthood during the time of the writing, the Hebrew or the Jewish priesthood still existed.

The temple was still there. They could have walked in and Jesus could have walked in as it were and said, all right, I’m here to serve as a priest. And they would’ve said, no, you’re not you’re of the wrong lineage. You have no in this. And yet they’re in the lesser tabernacle. They’re in the earthly one that just has a representation of the heavenly one.

There they’re serving in the, the picture of the real thing. He’s in heaven, serving in the real tabernacle. He’s in heaven, serving in the very throne of God. So he has obtained a better covenant because he’s a better mediator, which is established on better promises for if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.

Again, going back to the analogy, you don’t take the perfect car or that you already own, that has no flaws has no issues. Absolutely perfect. And trade it in for a lesser model. You don’t do that here. He said, you already have a priesthood. If you replace it with a new one, it’s not because the first one was perfect.

It’s because it wasn’t verse eight because finding fault with them, he says, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I, when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt,

because they did not continue in my covenant. And I disregarded them, says the Lord for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days says the Lord, I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. And I will be their God. And they shall be my people. None of them teach his neighbor.

And none his brother saying know the Lord for all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their lawless deeds. I will remember no more. This is quoted from Jeremiah in that he says, all right, so he’s quoted Jeremiah to draw this point out in that he says a new covenant.

He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Okay. So again, more could be said about everything here in Jeremiah. And there’s, there’s a wealth between Jeremiah 31 and Hebrews eight. But his point is, Jeremiah said in his day, I’m going to make a new covenant with my people.

Not like the one that I made with them when they came out of Egypt. And here’s the defining attribute. Here’s, what’s different. The one that I made with them when they came out of Egypt, they received part in the covenant because they were born into it. They by birth have no Decision-making of their own became part of the covenant, but not the new covenant.

The new covenant begins with their decision. It begins with their heart. It begins with them choosing to be part of the new covenant, which covenant, the Hebrew writer says to the Christians and to you and I today, we are part of a better covenant than the one in the past. Okay. That’s chapter eight. I knew I could do it.

And yet there’s a little part of me dying inside because there’s so much in chapter<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible>, But it’s about time to begin our worship service this morning. We do want to welcome all of you here today. And I’m just looking over the audience. And I don’t believe we have any visitors today, which is kind of unusual, but I know with the COVID increasing in its strength,

seems like over the country, that’s causing people a little bit more concerns and perhaps some are, might not be feeling well and, and decided not to try to make it today. So this remember all of these. We do want to remind you, if you did not pick up your communion to do that, if you haven’t already, we want to remember those that are ill,

continue to pray for Joan Springer. She has her good days and bad days. And I think I didn’t get a chance to talk to Marie about her when he came in, but she has been having, I think, more, better day or better days than she has had bad days, unless that’s changed. And I I’ve checked with him. I have to services on that.

Remember Robin woods and Jessica Dale and Tori Heisley, all of these continue to pray for them that they might improve their health. Janie Marlin is recovering from her knee replacement surgery. Now she’s going to therapy three times a week, and we want to continue to pray that everything will go well with that. And she’ll be able to have full use of her knee.

Again, Dortha Wilson is waiting Results on her stress test. So we want to continue to pray for her. And then dental Wilson that’s Rue, Dale Wilson, sister in law is in ICU with COVID and don’t forget that he lost his brother ODALE Eve to that. And they’re, they’re hoping that dimple will survive, but they’re not sure is it last word?

We got it. Wasn’t looking very good. It was good to see Pam with us today. She’s back, but she’s still not quite up to par. She said, and we want to continue to pray for her. That things will continue to make some improvement for, I know she’s been dealing with this for quite some time. So encourage her and keep her in your prayers.

Gladys Lyles is having some back problems and that is hurt. You’re supposed to go to see a doctor tomorrow and along that same line. I want to mention that Janney Sanderson’s dad had another stroke. He’s in the, what the doctors are doing. They’re just, they’re trying to get him strong enough so that he can go back home and then he will be under hospice care.

So I know that Terry and Jenny left yesterday to go down there to be with her dad. So, so they’re not with us today and we won’t, we won’t remember them. So I’m not sure if Gladys has a way down there. I don’t know if she’s set up anybody else. I probably check with her after services and, and see if she needs a ride to the hospital or to the doctor’s office.

Cause I don’t know if they had time to make those arrangements. Leah van clave that’s Becky’s niece, Becky Posner’s niece has COVID and we want to remember her. And also her sister Vicki Wadsworth is, seems to have a persistent cough and is not able to get over that. So keep her in your prayers. I guess when people get sick, they’re always more susceptible to the virus and we hope and pray.

None of these that are in that condition, that, that, that happens to them. Man’s business meeting will be tomorrow evening at 7:00 PM here at the church building. So we want to remind you of that. And we want to thank Sandy McCall for the decorations that she puts in the four year and out in front of the building. She always makes it look so nice.

And we appreciate her doing that. She does such a great job of that. And I, I just happened to be up here that this last time she went through that and I saw all the work. She went through getting that arranged and it takes her quite some time to do that. So she works real hard at it, but she just really makes the building and everything we’re inviting.

And we appreciate it so much. I have a note here from the Richardson. Family says, greetings. We want to take a moment to wish you all a happy holiday season. We miss you out. We miss you all and pray that you’re all. Well, we wanted to say thank you again for all the support, love, and care for us while we were in school.

We love you all. And think of you often, please keep us and the work at Eagleville and your prayers as we continue our labors here in Christ, the Richardson’s on that same note. We want to make the congregation aware that we are supporting of the Richardsons. The diplomas actually have are retiring at the end of this year and will no longer need our support.

So we’re going to start supporting Eric and his family in that work up there. So keep that in mind, keep praying for them that everything will continue to go well for that, that word this morning, Noah Olsen will be directing our song service. Jay Shafir has our opening prayer. Tommy O’Neil has the communion and Aaron Wood air, and we’ll be bringing the sermon.

And then Eric Richardson there, Eric, Eric, Eric Halvorson, w we have a joke about that. Cause I do this so often. Eric Halverson will have our closing prayer. Noah, good morning, number 716, 700 1616 seven one six. We will sing the all three versus seven one six. Sing to me. The then singing that song up.

He sprung the tiles behind me. It will bring green. The burdens well being lifted that are pressing. So showers, green blasting or my heart. Well flown sing to me, man. I’m only dream of it’s go then Laurie, this really glean saying to me, when shadows of the evening, seeing turn me and saying no sweetness song of all saying to me have,

and as I walk up dreaming of the comrades that so long have gone and a fairer region, Mong the angels wrong. They are happy as they sing that all sweet song sing to me. Then let me find the dream of its golden glory of its burly. Gleam. Sing to me when shadows of the name fall, sing to me, heaven, seeing the sweet song of all I’m saying to me,

a haven’t tender the<inaudible> till the shadows army rise and swiftly. When my heart is wary, when the day is long, sing to me, heaven sing that old sweet song. Sing to me. Oven led me fun. The dream of its golden glory of its Burnie. The same saying to me, when shadows of the evening fall seeing to me heaven,

seeing this weed is song of all Next song will be number 537 five three seven. Here we are bit string Toblerones five, three, seven. We’ll sing all three verses. Hmm, Here we are. But strain pilgrims. You a path is often them, but to cheer a song, our journey still, we sing this way, side him yonder over the rolling river where the shining mansions rise soon and will be our home for ever,

and the smile of the blessing and gave her. And gladdens all our longing a rise here. Our feet are often very the Hills that throng our way here, the 10th star clean gathers, but our hearts within us say,<inaudible> the rolling river where the shining mansions rise soon and will be our home for ever. And the smile of the blessing gave her gladdens all our longing a rise here.

Our souls are often fearful of the pilgrims lurking full, but the Lord is RD fender and he tells us may know Yon neral over the rolling river where the shining mansions rise soon on be our home far as ever. And the smile of the blessing given gladdens all our longing Song to help us prepare our minds for Lord’s supper. Or we actually do have a career,

sorry, Almighty God, our father, Holy and revered is your name and father. As we approach your throne this hour, we acknowledge you as a creator of this universe, our creator, we are so very grateful that you saw fit to create us in your image with a soul. And we’re also so very grateful that you gave us your word through your son,

that we may have a pathway for our lives and a route to heaven. We give you all our honor and praise father. We’re mindful of the church that meets here. Many of our number are unable to be with us due to fear or the COVID. And also there are many of them, many of us that are suffering from illnesses. We pray your healing hands will be upon all those that were mentioned today that they may be once again,

returned to their rightful place with us. We’re also mindful father of the turmoil that’s going on in this country. We pray for unity that we know that you are in control and whatever is best for us. You will see to it that it happens as we go through the further exercise. So this worship service, we are mindful that we often fail the,

and we do pray for forgiveness of our sins. As we repent and turn from them that we may stand whole and pure in your sight. And that our worship to you this hour will be a sweet savor senior Jesus in Jesus name that we pray amen. Now to prepare our minds for Lord’s supper, we’re going to sing to set the feast. Divine.

It is not in the book, but it will be on the slide to set the face. Divine we’ll sing the first and last verse.<inaudible> the bread and fresh food.<inaudible><inaudible> B<inaudible> the shrine. And<inaudible> the<inaudible> may we<inaudible> his dad are Holy<inaudible>. We see Stan Fe<inaudible> meaning your turn. And<inaudible> the<inaudible> H first day of the week,

as we gather to worship our God, our father we’re commanded to eat this bread, drink of this cup, to remember the death, burial, and resurrection of our savior. As we partake of this bread and this fruit of the vine with pride, that we would all reflect upon the death of Christ and that through his death, we have the hope of eternal life with our God.

Would you bow with me, our heavenly father. We truly thank you for Christ our savior. We thank you for this bread, which does your children represents the body of our savior. That was crucified Parsons. As we protect this bread, help each one of us to do it with a truth, truly thankful heart. For this sacrifice, these things we ask in Christ’s name,

amen. Would you bow with me again? Our heavenly, we continue our thanks for this fruit of the fine, which to us represents the blood of our savior. As we partake of it, help each one of us to do so in a manner that is pleasing and acceptable in these things we ask in Christ’s name, amen. It’s a separate part of our worship.

We have this opportunity to return onto her, our God, a part of that, that he blesses us with. And we know that every blessing we enjoy in this life comes from our God. Would you bow with me, our heavenly father. We thank you for every blessing that we have in this life. And we do know that each one of these come from the,

we know as a country, how we’re blessed. We pray us raver. We return under the, a part of that, that we have been blessed with, that we would do. So with a willing and cheerful heart, we pray that these fonts might be used to further the kingdom of your, these things we ask in Christ’s name. Amen. All right.

As long before, the last one will be number 470 417. And if you want to go ahead and Mark number 904, that will be the song of invitation, but we will sing number 470 before the lesson victory and Jesus will sing the first and last versus a 470. All right, let us sing. I heard an old, old story. How his savior came from glory,

how he gave his life on Calvary to save a wretch like me. I heard about his groaning of his precious blood toning, then Irie and my sins on one a Victori Oh, victory. Angie’s my se for Avar. He saw me and bought me with his reading blog. He loved me. I knew him and my love is due and he plunged me to victory beneath a cleansing.

FLA. I heard about a man Shan. He is built for me in glory. And I heard about the street of go beyond the crystal sea about the Joe’s saying Pam, the old redone John’s story and some sweet day. I’ll sing up there. The song, Victor green. Oh, victory. Jeez, my save your for Avar. He saw me and bought me with his reading blog.

He learned me air. I knew him and my love is do him. He plunged me to victory being Neetha cleansing flaw. Good morning. Imagine most of us, some point in our lives have walked through a building and have seen on the wall. Something that says in case of emergency break glass, the reality is that the point behind the sign, is there something behind the glass?

There’s something behind object That needs to be broken. That might Wait, save your life. And yet, in all of our lives, as Christians, we face adversity At times and whether constantly, or, or sporadically, we will find ourselves in the situation of being in adversity. And that situation is one that can be hard to deal with. It can be a struggle.

And a matter of fact, it is often a struggle because it is not a comfortable place. It is not a place where we find safety. It is a place where we Find struggle and yeah, Yet the scriptures speak of adversity and they speak of what we should do when we encounter it. So this morning, I want to look at adversity. Now,

before I get into what it is that we should do in times of adversity, I want to qualify a few things and I want to qualify what it is that I’m talking about. I’m not talking about adversity that comes when we bring adversity upon ourselves in the sense of when we sin and when God, because of our sin brings about judgment and adversity in our lives.

That’s not the kind of adversity we’re talking about this morning. The Israelites were told when they were there before the Mount, when they were being given the law, when Moses declared to them, if you will do these things, Leviticus, chapter 26, then God will bless you. And God will look favorably upon you and God will do all these things for you.

You will have blessings and not adversity. And yet, if you turn away from God, if you turn away from his covenant, then you will have all of these curses. And he describes to them in clear pictures, the adversity they will go through. If they would not obey There, God, that is not the adversity under discussion this morning. We’re also not specifically looking at adversity in the situation where someone comes against us because of something we’ve done to them.

If we have a situation, as Jesus describes where someone says, I have ought against you, you have done something wrong to me. And as a result of that, we’re now in a situation of adversity. We’re now in a situation where someone can drag us as Jesus illustrates it before the judge, But it’s our fault. He, you settle with The person right there.

You make it right right now because you are At fault. And if you don’t do it before you reach the judge, you’re going to find yourself in a worse situation. So solve the problem Between you and your brother immediately. That’s also not the adversity we’re speaking of this morning. Instead, we’re speaking of the adversity that we read about in James chapter one in James chapter one,

we read James of bond, servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ and To the 12 tribes, which are scattered abroad. My brethren count it all. Joy. When you fall into various trials, the adversity we are speaking of is the adversity that comes as a result, a natural result of being Obedient to God, Being obedient as a Christian and living the Christian life.

The writer James writes to these Christians and he says, first and foremost, when you encounter adversity, Count it a joy. Now this is something In opposition to our normal disposition, to our normal nature. Our natural response to adversity is to think, why am I going through this? Why am I going through this difficulty? Why are these people confronting me?

Why is this such a struggle? Why am I facing this TRIBE? And while adverse, He is a time of reflection. Ecclesiastes. Chapter seven speaks concerning that. The idea as when times are good, being able to be joyful, but when times are difficult, when adversity comes being able to reflect upon ourselves and see why it is that we’re going through it.

But if we examine ourselves as Joe did, when he looked at his own life and he looked at everything that he had done, and he saw the adversity he was going through, and he couldn’t find a reason in him, His life for his adversity, He couldn’t find a sin in his life. That was the cause. He couldn’t find the thing that he had done in opposition to God.

That would cause God to do this to him. When we find ourselves in that situation that he or sorry, James writes to these brethren and he says It all joy As we go through each step of these instructions that James provides us. One of the things I want to do is I want to look at An example In this case, turn just back a few pages in your Bibles to Jay,

to Hebrews chapter 12. And you’ll Find there an example in all the way through our lesson, we’re going to Use Christ as the, of Dealing with adversity. But in Hebrews chapter 12, Verse two, We find the Hebrew writer describing to these Christians, why they ought to be faithful, why they ought to do what’s right, why they ought to lay aside sin and get busy looking at the goal of eternity.

And he says in verse two, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the Now watch this phrase, the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. The Hebrew writer declares to us that Jesus Christ looked at the adversity of the cross. He looked at everything that he was going to have to go through.

And in looking at it, he determined to do it Because of the joy set before him. He looked at it adversity. He looked at a struggle. He looked at a difficult situation and in it he Found joy. One 19 speaks concerning This idea as the Psalmus writer Here in somewhat a different vein. But looking at This from the perspective of the word of God says this Psalm one 19 beginning in verse 66,

he says, teach me Good judgment and knowledge for, I believe your commandments. Before I was afflicted, I went astray, Right? Notice here, the, the, the Psalmist as he is pending this, he says I had a problem and I was ignoring it until you afflicted me until this affliction came, I was going astray. But now I’m aware of what I was doing wrong.

He says, before I was afflicted, I went astray. But now I Keep your word. You are good and do good. Teach me your statutes. The proud have forged a lie against me, but I will keep your precepts with all my whole heart. Their heart is as fat, as fat as grease, But I delight in your law. It is good for me.

Notice this. It is good for Me that I have been afflicted that I may learn your statutes. The Psalmus writer looks at the trials, the afflictions that he’s going through. And he says, I became aware of what I needed. I became aware of what I was missing. I became aware of what I was still lacking in my knowledge of you.

When affliction was brought on me, when I had to deal with this situation, when I was struggling in the midst of this affliction, I went to your word. I went to your word and I found What was missing in my Life. Turned to Hebrews chapter 13, the Hebrew writer again makes this declaration and Hebrews chapter 13, beginning in verse 13,

He says, let us go forth to him outside the camp, Bearing his reproach for here. We have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore by him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God. That is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. When James says you encounter trials, Count it all joy.

The Hebrew writer says, as we examine our situation, let us proceed outside the Gates to Christ. Let us go out to the place of reproach, where he was reproached and in his reproach, The cross, let us give thanks. So notice this path, Jesus went to the cross because he counted it joy to do that yet. Despite The shame we approach the cross and see what he did and we give praise to God.

And so we look at our adversity, we look at our trials and James says, You count it all joy, but then Consider the second thing that James identifies. And that is that when we come to adversity, in the case of adversity, we need to Let it work. As the Salmas writer was pointing out his adversity, his affliction brought to his realization,

What was still lacking, What it was in his life that he still needed to work on. And James writes in James chapter one beginning of verse three, knowing that the testing of your faith produces Patience. He says, as You examine this trial that you’re going in to, as you’re going through and enduring this, let it work because it’s going to produce something.

God is presenting this trial to you. He is presenting this affliction before you, he is presenting this obstacle so you can learn how To overcome it so That you can learn how to have patience. In hard times, Jesus would identify the need for those who were his disciples to be faithful in little things So that they might be faithful in great things. We need to learn in the difficulties and in the trials to allow those adversities,

those trials to work. But then he says, verse four, but let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete Lacking nothing. James identifies that the working the production of adversity is to produce perfection. It is to identify within our lives. The things that still need to be worked on God allows us to go through this adversity, this affliction,

this difficulty and endure those situations so that we might find the things where we are still lacking in turn over to Hebrews chapter five. Now, one thing I want to point out is this does not mean that God is afflicting us because of sin. You know, we pointed out the kind of affliction we’re not talking about. This is not an affliction that comes to cause us to repent.

It’s an affliction that comes to cause us to, To grow. I can’t express to you that there is pain in growth. Arm has been doing a process of growth as my bones knit themselves back together. And there is a painful process involved in growth. And yet the Hebrew writer Points out and Hebrews chapter five verses eight through nine, that this isn’t unique to us because again,

in the life of Christ, we see this very idea though. He was a son verse eight, yet he learned obedience by the things Which he suffered and having been perfected Hebrew. It came the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him. James says, when we fall into trials, when we fall into adversity, we need to allow it to work in us,

to produce perfection, to cause us, to see the areas where we must grow to become like Christ. And that Is one of the things that we should do in the midst of adversity. But Romans chapter 12, Romans chapter 12 identifies this singular idea that though James has referenced it, we’ll bring it forward Here as well. Romans chapter 12. And in verse 12,

he says, rejoicing in hope. As he writes to these Christians, he’s giving them a list of things they need to be fervent in and they need to be doing, they need to be focusing on. He says, be re those who are rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer. He identifies their patients. This idea here in the original language is one who stands up under a burden as God,

places before you a trial, he will not place before you one, you cannot endure and he expects you to stand up under it. He expects you to grow from it to become stronger by the trial that he places before you. So when adversity comes, we need to first count it a joy Second need to let it work. But we thirdly need to get understanding.

This is an integral ingredient to everything else that we’re discussing here until our perspective is right until we understand the situation, we will not handle it properly. James chapter one verse five says, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him, Oh God for hoops. Let me, let me reread that. Let me look at the right part of the page.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God Who gives to all liberally and without reproach. And it will Be given to him In the midst of this trial. As James presents, the difficulty that they may be enduring, that they may go through. He says, first of all, Canada joy. Secondly, realize that it’s working in you to produce perfection.

Thirdly, get wisdom, seek for wisdom. He says, if you’re lacking it, this should be apparent by how you’re dealing with the adversity. This should be identified by your adversity in your trial. He said, if you lack wisdom, ask God, Proverbs chapter four, Proverbs chapter four, the Proverbs writer says this verse seven. He says, wisdom is the principal thing.

Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting Get understanding Sets before his son, the one who’s the recipient of his Wisdom here in the book of Proverbs, The need to obtain wisdom, but not just wisdom for wisdom sake, not just wisdom to say I’m a wise man, but wisdom to obtain Understanding. And so as James points out these trials, as he points out these adversities,

this difficulty, he identifies the need For the product of wisdom, the need for understanding in Luke chapter 24, Jesus Is he is looking backward and explaining to his apostles why these things have occurred. We’ll identify this idea, Luke chapter 24, beginning in verse 44. Then he said to them, these are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you.

That all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and of the prophets and of the Psalms concerning me. So here he is, he’s gone through this crucifixion. He’s gone through a burial. He’s resurrected again. He’s now together with the apostles and he’s explaining to them, reminding them of the things he’s already taught them before he went through all of it,

but they didn’t get the point. They didn’t understand these things. And so he brings them to mind to tell them everything that Moses and the prophets and the Psalms spoke concerning me had to be fulfilled in those what he said. And he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the scriptures. Then he said to them, thus, it is written and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day.

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. He identifies the goal and connects it to the adversity. So they might understand They end the necessity. So many times we look at adversity and struggle and difficulty in our life and we can’t figure out why we would ever need to go through this. Why we would ever need to endure such a difficult thing.

It is In that moment that we are to realize Our lack of understanding our lack of wisdom, right? And is that moment where we are to become like the Psalmus described himself in Psalm one 19 and go to the word of God, to seek out the answer, to find out what we’re missing. Because our lack of understanding brings forward. Our need for growth.

James says, when you endure these trials, you need to understand their value. You need to understand what they can do for you. But the only way you can gain that understanding Is to get wisdom from God turned to Jay. Second, Timothy, sorry. Second Timothy chapter three, verse 12. As Paul writes to this young preacher instead, Megan,

Timothy chapter three. And in verse 12, he writes to him and encourages him by saying this. He says, yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ. Jesus will suffer persecution. If you skip back to verse 10, he says, but you have carefully followed my Doctrine. Manner of life, Purpose, faith, long suffering, love perseverance,

persecutions afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch at<inaudible> what persecutions I endured and out of them, all The Lord delivered me. He said, Timothy, you’ve been with me. You’ve watched me. You Ben, a careful observer of everything I’ve gone through. And now you need to know to expect it in your life. Yes, You need to know that all who desire to live godly in Christ,

Jesus will in Dewar persecution. He says, buddy evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of knowing from whom you have learned them as he presents Timothy, with this reality of persecution, this reality of adversity, this reality of struggle. He presents to him the reminder of the source of College.

He says, you go back to the things you’ve learned. You go Back to the things you’ve been taught. You go back to what you have been told because in it, you will find the underst Meaning you need to endure. But then James also identifies a fourth thing. As he says that we are to count it all joy. He also says that we are to let it work.

He also shows that we are to get understanding. He fourthly shows that we To pray in faith. Now, in this context, he specifically stating this in view of the wisdom he says we were to ask for from God. So let’s go back to verse five. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach.

And it will be given to him, but let him ask in faith with no doubting for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed By the wind for let, Not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man unstable in all his, His ways. James identifies the necessity of prayer in faith.

As this individual, as he describes, it goes through adversity. As he seeks for understanding, as he seeks for wisdom to endure that adversity, he needs to ask from the Lord, but in everything that he asks for from the Lord, he needs to pray. He needs to Ask in confidence in faith, In assurance that God is able to do the thing that he asked and Hebrews chapter five,

we see Christ again, as an example of this, as we returned back to Hebrews chapter five, we read verses eight and nine previously, but I want to go back to verse seven. In verse seven, we read who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with the HemOnc cries and tears to him, God,

the father who was able to save him from death And Was heard because of his godly fear. No, this is what we read concerning Christ. In this passage, we read that in the midst of this adversity that he was facing in the midst of the necessity of going to the cross in the midst of knowing that this was necessary to fulfill all righteousness,

to fulfill what Moses had written and what the prophets had written and what the Psalm was had written to bring forth salvation. Yet he still desired to have that cup pass from him. And so he prayed and asked that God do that very thing. But notice this statement about God who was a bull, you might say, well, wait, No, no,

that’s not that can’t possibly be true. God could not have chosen To not have Jesus die. Oh yes. He could have, If Jesus Christ prayed three times for an hour, each time let this cup pass from me. He prayed it because it was possible, But the possibility required something else you see, because if it was possible that it happened,

the result would have been that we would not be saved. Oh, what was possible? And God could have done it. And Jesus knew he could have. But the difference is Jesus prayed in faith knowing God was able, but also knowing God and his will, would ultimately be what would happen. And so he prayed not my will, but yours be done in Daniel chapter three,

Hannah and I as Ryan, Michelle stand before Nebuchadnezzar and they are confronted with a choice either you will down when the music plays and you will worship this image that I have created, or you will be Passed into this fiery furnace that I have set up And Daniel or sorry, Hannah and I, as Ryan Michelle in the book of Daniel will reply to Navigant answer that their God was able to save Them.

But they point out, even if he doesn’t, you see, they have this assurance of their God, that their God is more than capable. They’re God good deliver them from this fiery furnace. And he would, but they had no guarantee that he would, they knew he was capable of doing it. They had hopes and plans that he would certainly do it,

But they knew all of them, Ultimately that no matter what, whether God did it or not, they would not bow down to Napa cancer’s image. You see, they had confidence. They had confidence that God was able and that God’s will, would be done the same way. Jesus did turn over to Hebrews chapter four in Hebrews chapter four, after speaking concerning Christ,

as our high priest, the Hebrew writer says, let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of, I need in the midst of adversity, we are told to pray. And we are told to pray, not with doubting, not with a lack of faith, but with confidence that God can do what we ask turn over to Hebrews chapter 10,

Hebrews chapter 10 beginning in verse 21. We read this and having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near draw near to what near to God, Let us draw near to God with a true heart in full Assurance of faith. Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. The Hebrew writer says Your salvation in this new and living leg created by God in this salvation that he offers you through Christ.

You have confidence to come near to him and You can hold fast without wavering to that hope and that salvation until the end, but then consider number five. He says, remember your reward. Now we need to skip to the end of the book of James to get this over in James chapter five beginning in verse nine, we read do not grumble again,

or sorry against one another brethren lest you Be condemned. Behold, judge is standing at the door. My brethren take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example, and notice and example of suffering and patience. Well, what’s he talking about in James chapter one, suffering and patience, adversity trials, and enduring them. He says,

take the profits. As an example, who spoke in the name of the Lord and suffered as an example for you in what they did. He said, indeed, we count them. Blessed who endure? You have heard of the perseverance of job and have seen the end intended by the Lord that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. As James writes to these brethren and he presents to them having gone through all of the practical things that he’s instructed them about concerning in this book,

he points them back to the prophets and says, now you look, you look at those profits and you look at how we view them and those who in Those hard times, and what did they do? They looked for the reward. They looked for what came After the adversity and after Their endurance turned back to Hebrews chapter 12. And again, we see Christ.

And yet We see the example of Christ as exemplified for us in our instruction. Go back to verse one. He says, therefore, we also see he’s writing to these Christians. He says, here’s your, here’s what you are to do. Here’s what you’re to learn from these people in Hebrews 11. This is what you’re to do. Hebrews chapter 12,

verse one. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great, a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin, which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance. The race that is set before us. How, how do we lay aside the things that are wrong? How do we set aside the things that are slowing us down?

How do we do this? Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. He says, you run the race. You lay aside the way you set aside the sin, because you’re looking To the roll ward.

Remember in the midst of adversity, the reward set before you, but then six Lee. And finally, we need to remember others in their adversity. See, because as we go through life, as we grow, as we allow adversity to produce perfection in us, we need to remember that we are not the only ones who ever go through adversity. So often we will be so focused on enduring adversity,

our struggles, all our, our difficulties that we’ll miss someone else who’s going through there Own adversity. And So James tells these brethren beginning in James chapter five, and in verse 13, to remember The others who Are going through adversity, he says, verse 13 is any among you suffering. Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing. Psalms is anyone among you?

Sick. Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him. Anointing him with oil in the S in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another. Pray for one another,

that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain. And it did not rain on the land for three and a half or three years in six months. And he prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the earth produced its fruit brethren.

If any, among you wanders from the truth. And someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his ways will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins all throughout this passage. As he encourages those who are sick, those who are struggling, those who are sending those who are in the midst of difficulty,

the encourages them to do these things. There’s a focus on what Christians can Do for Christians. Peter Brings forward to this idea as well. In second, Peter chapter three, I’m sorry. First Peter chapter four, first Peter chapter four, Peter, Or as he is writing to these Christians says beginning in verse 12, beloved, do not think it’s strange concerning the fiery trial,

which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice, to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad With exceeding joy. He says, as you look at what’s happening, as you look at what you’re going to go through, you don’t seem no don’t allow it to make you think this is strange that this is an anomaly,

that this is only happening to you. But instead understand that Christ went through this before you, and that you can endure it with Joy. We need to remember those Who are going through adversity, Hebrews chapter 13, Hebrews Chapter 13, once again, this time. And in verse three, He says, remember, remember the prisoners as if change With what’s he talking about,

He’s talking about Christians, who for the cause of Christ have been faithful to God. And as a result have been imprisoned. Those who are suffering in a real way. And he tells these brethren who were free, who were walking around, who were struggling with their own little struggles, but who had not suffered until the point of blood. He says,

you remember Those who Are in chains and you don’t remember them as if they’re some strange thing of far off. You remember them as if you were chained right next to them in saying this, he exemplifies for us that in the midst of someone else’s adversity, we are to put ourself in their position and say, if it was Me, what would I want them to do for me?

He says, Remember the prisoners as if chained with them, those who are mistreated since you yourselves are in the body. Also, why are we to do this? Because we are Brethren and Hebrews Chapter 10 beginning in verse 24. Again, the Hebrew writer reminds us of how we are to act towards our brother. And he says, let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,

not forsaking. The assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of somebody exhorting one another and so much. The more as you see the day approaching, he says, you look at one another, you consider one another. You pay attention To the needs of the Each other. But then one more time over in Romans chapter 12, Romans chapter 12, as Paul writes to the church at Rome,

he says this in verse 15, he says rejoice With those who do rejoice and weep with those who weep in the midst of adversity, we need to remember others who are going through their own adversity as you and I look at our lives. As we live our lives as Christians, we can be assured of one thing. Paul identifies it, that as Those who live godly in Christ Jesus,

we will Have adversity. And yet it’s how we go through it. That is important. And It’s what we allow it to do to Us. That helps us to become what God would have us to be. If you’re outside the body of Christ this morning, you’re outside of the place of redemption and hope. You’re outside of the church that Christ died for.

He died for the church that you might have salvation in his body. You enter into his body by hearing the word of God and believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God. By repenting of your sins, confessing the name of Christ and being immersed in water for the remission of your sins. But if you’re a Christian and you’re going through adversity, here’s one thing you need to know.

You don’t have to go through it alone. The church is here for you in your difficulties, in your trials and in your adversities. And one of the things I love about this congregation is no one goes through difficult times by themselves. If anyone else knows they’re going through it, if you have need of help of prayers for the same, or from the SANEs or of repentance,

why not come now as we stand and as we sing, Are you fully trusting in his grace this hour? Are you a wash? And the blood of the lamb? Are you in, in the so cleansing, but<inaudible> are your garments bond lists? Are they ass? No. Are you all washed and blah, blah. Lay a side. The garments that are stained with sand<inaudible> are you fountain flowing for the us clean?

Oh, be washed in the blood of the lamb.<inaudible> and so<inaudible> are your garments spotless? Are they wide ass? No. Are you a washed and blah, thank you, Aaron. For that great lesson closing song this morning is going to be number 711. We’ll sing the first verse only number 711, and then we’ll have our closing. Prayer will speak the Tyler that binds.

Let us bless be<inaudible> John, the family. Hello shit.<inaudible> that? God, our father in heaven, we come to you at this time, thanking you for the opportunity to this morning, to assemble here in this house of worship and sing songs, appraised your great name and study a portion of your word. God, we know there are many amongst us that are struggling with various things,

health reasons, especially. And we ask if it’d be your will, that you help them recover to a measure health that they so desire. And we ask also that you wrap your loving arms around them. And those that have lost loved ones in the recent past, you wrap your comforting, loving arms around them and provide comfort to them that only you can.

And God we know that each and every one of us as we go about our daily lives come across struggles and turmoil and various events that we occasionally don’t know how to deal with. And we ask that you help us to remember this lesson, that brother Aaron brought us this morning, and that is to come to you and seek you, seek your wisdom,

your guidance, and pray to you. Faithfully that you, as we do know, will help us to resolve our conflicts with those that we encounter out there in the world. And with our struggles asked that we take the wisdom that you provide to us and figure out what it is that you want us to do and go on with our lives, serving you here on earth.

We know that there are times that we fall short of your glory. And when we come to you asking for forgiveness of sins, we ask that you please forgive us to them. And as we prepare to depart here this morning, we ask that you guys garden direct each and every one of us and safeguard us until we return at the next appointed time.

We pray this through your son, Jesus name. Amen.

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12-09-2020 – Live Stream – Hebrews 5-6

In Bible Classes Videos by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Does it work better now? Hey, go. Alright, now we’re cooking with grease. Okay. We are in Hebrews chapters, five and six this evening. I don’t know how in the world we’re going to get finished with five and six this evening, but we’re going to try, we’ll go through and do the questions for chapters three and four in just a moment,

but let’s begin with a word of prayer. Our gracious father in heaven, we bound before your throne, thankful for this day, coming before you, as we learn here in the book of Hebrews, that we might have boldness to seek your help in time of need and to find grace and mercy at your throne. We thank you for the opportunity that we have to praise you.

We thankful for, we are thankful for the opportunity we have to pray before you, we are thankful for all that you do for us and most, especially for your son who came and died on the cross for our sins, but is also our intercessor and our high priest. Before your throne, we are mindful of all those who are going through difficulties.

We’re mindful of Dorothy and Rodel and the family. At this time of loss, we pray that you will be with them and with their own difficulties and health issues that they might be back at their desired health. We pray that you be with everyone in this country that is dealing with difficulties and hardships and loss and pain. We pray, especially for those among our own membership that are dealing with those things.

We pray. They might have comfort and strength. We’re mindful of those who are separated from us because of COVID. And we pray that they might have comfort and strength and endurance through this hard time, and that they might be lifted in this time of need all this. We pray in Jesus name, Hey man, who Or which is better Moses or Jesus,

Jesus, the house or the builder, the builder, the Sabbath rest or eternal rest eternal rest. Now, if you all were going through that, like some people do in the HCTZ go second, one second. One. I can’t be second. One, three times in a row. First who makes up the house of Christ? Christians? When should believers encourage each other in their faithfulness Daily or today?

Either one of those are good answers. Why were many of the Israelites led by Moses not allowed to enter into eternal rest? They Did not believe. And they rebelled. Okay. Two, what is the word compared A sharp two edge sword. How much of each individual can God see Everything? There is nothing hid from his sight. Why can Jesus sympathize with our weaknesses As he was tempted just as we are?

Okay. So as we conclude chapter four, he emphasizes The usefulness, The power and the function of the Word. He Discusses the discerning, this of God, and specifically Christ the idea being, if you use the word to extract from your life, that which is wrong, then you will be Holy. If you ignore the power of the word of God and you don’t let it have any effect on your life instead,

you’ll be judged by it because it knows you. And it knows whether or not you have been obedient to it. Jesus said in John chapter 12, verse 48, that by my words, you will be judged. So here we have that same idea. Verse 14. Then we read seeing them. We have a great high priest. If you are presented with the situation where all you have going for you is the law.

Let’s think about it this way. Raise your hand. If you’re a lawyer, all right, I don’t feel bad then. All right, For everyone, who’s not a lawyer of the room. And that’s everybody. Would you feel incredibly comfortable walking into a courtroom all by yourself with the prosecuting attorney and all his people arrayed over on the other side. And you’re the defendant and you get to walk in and you get no help.

You’ve never even watched Perry. Mason, you have no idea what you’re doing. All you have though, is somebody walks up to you and they say, don’t worry. You’ve got the law. Oh, congratulations. You’ve got the law. Well, but if you don’t know whether or not you’ve obeyed the law, if maybe, you know, you didn’t obey the law,

what would you really like to have? But that moment, a good lawyer, An advocate, someone who can advocate on your behalf, who knows the law, but also who knows the judge, that’d be nice. But someone who knows, you knows the circumstance, knows the law and can advocate on your behalf Half. That’s another picture of Jesus Christ as our inter her as our high priest,

as our advocate. So seeing then we read in verse 14 that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast. Our confession, as the Hebrew writer turns to these brethren and he says to them, again, let us do this. He predicates it on. He says, we don’t have a high priest.

Who’s been allowed to walk through a veil. Under the old Testament, they had a high priest that high priest was flesh and blood. Like they were, he sinned like they sinned. He struggled like they struggled. He was imperfect. Like they were imperfect. The only thing that separated him from them is he was allowed to walk Through a curtain, but not Jesus Christ.

He said, Jesus Christ. Hasn’t just walked through a curtain. He’s passed into the heavens. He’s in the presence of God, the high priest in the days of Moses, there was a time when God’s presence was there in the tabernacle. But for much of Israelite history that high priest would walk into in essence, an empty room. As a matter of fact,

there was a point in Hebrew history going from the time of the Babylonian captivity on where he’d walk into a room where there was no longer even an Ark of the covenant every year, he’d walk into an empty room, but not Jesus Christ. Seeing then that we have a high priest who can, who has passed through the heavens Jesus Christ, the son of God,

let us hold fast. Our confession for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin.<inaudible> Sometimes we come to this verse and we immediately jump over to Matthew chapter four or Luke chapter four. And we look at the temptations of Christ and that’s all well and good.

But sometimes I think we treat Matthew four and Luke four, as though those were the only times Jesus was tempted. Granted, those were the times where we read about Satan coming directly to Christ and tempting him directly. But it reads at the end of that, that he left him for a season. He, he didn’t stop tempting Jesus. When Matthew four and Luke four were finished,

it wasn’t as though he said, well, I failed three times, I guess three strikes you’re out and let’s go on with life. No, he went away at that point in time to come back and return. But he also tempted Jesus through many other means. Do you remember a time when Jesus was tempted, according to him, by one of his own disciples,

Peter, Peter said, you don’t have to die. You don’t have to go to Jerusalem and be killed. You don’t have to go to the cross. And Jesus said, get Val behind me, Satan, Why would Jesus say that? Because it won’t be just a few hours later. Jesus will be in the garden three times praying that God let this cup pass from Me.

Peter is telling him he has a choice. He can choose not to do what he knows he has to do. And there’s part of him that wants to make that choice after all that’s temptation. Isn’t it. If you’re, If there’s no part of you that wants to be involved in a sin, you’re not being tempted. There are some sins in this life.

Be very Frank and honest with you. I can walk right by and have it In no means any temptation to be involved in that sin. But That’s certainly not true for every sin. Was there a time when Jesus could have been tempted to use his anger In a wrong way? First of all, was Jesus ever angry? Absolutely. Three times in scripture,

we read explicitly that Jesus was angry. When I think it’s Mark chapter six or Mark chapter three. Again, I get them confused. Sometimes I think it’s Mark chapter six, Mark chapter six. They bring the man to Jesus who has the withered hand. They bring him to him on a Sabbath day. They bring this man who has a hand that he cannot use.

He is disabled and they bring him to him. Not because they care for the man. Not because they’re interested in the man. Not because they love the man, but because they want to tempt Jesus to find out if he will heal him on the side, If they, and so Jesus asked them, is it better to do good or To do evil on the Sabbath?

And they answered him, not a word. The passage says, and he looked on them with anger, for the hardness, Their hearts. And I am so incredibly grateful that Jesus Christ isn’t like some of us who occasionally lose our temper, Because imagine if the son of God Lost his temper, what might’ve happened, All of these things, all of these times in scripture,

when, when Jesus is sitting at the, the last supper is there in the upper room and Judas says the word, Oh Lord, is it I, what would you have done if you knew? And he did, Jesus was tempted in all points like we are yet without sin. Now, does That mean that Jesus had every temptation ever known to man placed in front of him?

No, that’s not. That’s not the point because neither do any one of us. Every one of us deals with our own weaknesses in the flesh and our own struggles in the flesh and our own temptations. And the point is so did he, the difference is he was able to walk into the courtroom before the judge and stand before the judge with the whole prosecuting table,

arrayed against him and stand there with the law. And the judge could say, is there at any point anytime where you have in any way broken one of my laws and he could say, No, I have fulfilled it completely to which the prosecuting attorney goes. And I have no case. That is why he can be our high priest. And that is why we can read verse 16,

let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Now, as the Hebrew writer writes to these Jewish Christians, as he writes to these brethren and he tells them this three times in a three or four times in chapter four, let us do this, let us do this. Let us do this.

Let us hold fast. This confession, let us come boldly before his throne to find help in time, he knows they’re struggling. He knows these brethren are struggling with persecution with being outcast by their own family, being rejected by their own nation. Being called traders, being called those who were blasphemous. He knows this, But he’s, He also knows they need to remember.

They’re not alone because the one who they worship, the one who they follow, the one who may serve was also Tim did in all those ways. And We’re going to get over in chapter 10 and suffered to the shedding of blood in chapter 10, he’s going to get a little harsh on them because he said you haven’t even shed any blood yet. What’s your problem,

But what, why are you giving up when your Lord did? Okay. So he says then chapter five, verse one for every high priest taken from among them. As he described Jesus as our high priest in a few minutes, he’s going to give an analogy of Jesus as our high priest, but he wants you to know something about being a high priest first.

Okay? So this, this enters into a discussion about the high priest office. Okay? So he says for every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray since he himself is also subject to weakness because of this.

He is required as for the people. So also for himself to offer sacrifices for sins, he’s describing the old Testament priesthood he’s describing the priest like Aaron in the days of Moses, who on the day of atonement, before he could ever offer a sacrifice for the people. He first had to offer a sacrifice for him self, but he’s making the point that this high priest was given this responsibility.

He was appointed to this task. He didn’t take it on his own. He didn’t go and say, you know what? I’m going to be the high priest and take that power. He was appointed by God to do this. And no, man, verse four takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.

So also Christ did not glorify himself to become high priest, but it was he who said to him, in other words, it was he the father who said to him, the son, you are my son today. I have gotten you also, he says, in another place, you Christ are a priest forever. According to the order of milk is a deck.

Now we discussed milk is the deck way back in our, our study of Genesis over in Genesis chapter 12, Mel kids, a deck comes on the scene, no background, no, no history. All we’re told in the days of Abraham is this man was a priest of the most high God. And the King of Salem, which many believe is,

is an indication. He was the King of the city that would later be known as Jerusalem later on in life or later on in history. So this man was King and priest under the Israeli law. You couldn’t have a King who was also a priest. You can have a priest who was a King. Why not? All right. Right. The priesthood came from Aaron’s family and the Kings came through David’s family.

And Aaron was from the tribe of Levi. And David was from the tribe of Judah. Okay? So you couldn’t have a King and priest, but then notice with Christ. He says, you’re not a priest. After the order of Aaron, the, the, the priests that had been priests all down through the years from the time of Moses all the way until the time of Christ were priest after the order or family of Aaron.

But Jesus Christ. Wasn’t the priest. After the order of Aaron, he was a priest. After the order of Melchizedek, he was both King and priest. Notice this verse seven, who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with the HemOnc cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death and was heard because of his godly fear though,

he was a son. Yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered and having been perfected. He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him called by God as priest, according or as high priest. According to the order of milk is a deck of whom we have much to say and hard to explain. Since you have become dull Hearing Jesus Christ while he was in the flesh,

suffered was tempted yet without sin. And God said, yes, Too, are going to bear the burden of Sin for all mankind. Okay. Notice what, what we read, having been perfected verse nine, he became the author, the originator of eternal salvation to all who obey him. Okay. Without Christ, We have no salvation Without Christ. Anyone in the old Testament had no salvation,

the blood of bulls and goats. We’re going to get into that discussion. And a couple of chapters couldn’t take away sins Separate from the blood of Christ. So those things looked forward to Christ, but if Christ didn’t die, if Christ didn’t go to the cross, there would be No salvation. There would be no redemption. Now This verse seven says who in the days of his flesh,

when he had offered up prayers and supplications with the HEMOC cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death and was heard because of his godly fear though, he was a son. Yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered. Sometimes I think we get the picture in our minds that when we pray to God for help in a,

when he answers that prayer is when the situation goes away and we don’t have to deal with it anymore. But this passage teaches the exact opposite of that. He prayed. We just mentioned the time in the garden. Three times, he went before God praying, let this cup pass from me, let this cup pass from me. Let this cup pass from me.

And yet we read here that he offered up prayers with supplication, with the Heman cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death and was heard. Okay. And his prayers were answered weren’t they? But was the answer. Yes. Nope. One of the things we struggle with, we see an impending bad situation on the horizon, in our lives or in the life of somebody else,

the life of a friend, the life of a loved one. And we go, God, you got to step in. You got to do something about this. And then he does it. Or we perceive that he doesn’t, the bad thing happens. Some will come to the conclusion. God didn’t hear me. Some will come to the conclusion. God must not Exist.

Some will come to the conclusion. There’s no reason to serve a God who would let such terrible things happen. Jesus Came to the conclusion. He heard me. You remember what Jesus, his prayer was so often As individuals who Struggle with seeing eternity, our prayer is God, do what I ask you To do. Jesus’s prayer was God do your will.

And here’s what I ask you to do, But do your will. And that prayer is very different because ultimately that prayer is the prayer of subjection. That prayer is the prayer of one who says you choose, and I’m going to be fine with whatever choice you make. Here’s what I want. And nobody can argue. He didn’t want it. Nobody can argue.

He didn’t want it. The Hayman lane, no one can argue. He didn’t sincerely with every aspect of his flesh. Want that cup to pass from him. But his determination Was not That my flesh wins out. His determination was God’s Bill wins out. So we re Though he was a son. Yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered not learn obedience in the sense that most of our children learn obedience.

They learn obedience by being disobedient, being punished for disobedience. And then they learn obedience. That’s not the idea here. The idea is that he, as one who was deed, He had never needed to be obedient. He Never needed to subject himself, let alone take on in the sense of lowering himself as he did to take on flesh yet he learned obedience and a function and attribute It truly is.

It is In a real sense. Isn’t an attribute of God. The idea of obedience as an attribute is not an attribute of God for who would heal that Who’s greater than himself. And yet He learned obedience by the things which he suffered. Every time he came across to an event where his flesh wanted to do one thing and his father said to do something else,

You learned obedience. Okay? Now having Ben perfected, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him called by God as high priest, according to the order of milk his neck. So he said he introduced milk his deck. Now he’s looped back around. The milk is a deck, but now he’s going to say, and I love to explain this to you,

but Y’all are hard-headed Dola hearing. I sure am glad that a lot of our preachers today aren’t as blunt as the writers in the new Testament work, he said, you’re dull Of hearing. The word of God has been spoken to you and spoken to you and spoken to you. And you should have learned it by now. But instead you said, getting really tired of it.

I’m getting really lowered with this. Oh, I’ll never understand it. He’s Your disposition is wrong. Your heart is wrong. Your mindset is wrong. And therefore, I can’t explain this to you. Notice what he goes on to say. He says for though, by this time you ought to teachers. You need someone to teach you again. The first principles of the Oracles of God.

And you have come to need milk and not solid food for everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness for he is a babe, but solid food belongs to those who are a full age. That is those who by reason of use have their senses exercise to discern both good and evil is that I would love to explain this to you.

I love to tell you about how Jesus Christ is high priest after the order of Melchizedek, but you have refused to grow spiritually. And because you have refused to grow because you are still sipping on milk instead of exercising yourself to consume the meat of the word. I can’t explain this to you. You won’t understand it. You won’t get it. This is a struggle that we encounter When we spend Hour after hour,

after hour, week after week after week sitting and listening to the word of God being taught and never do anything with it. That’s what Dole of hearing means. If you sit week after week after week, and you hear, and the moment you walk out the door, you flush out of your mind, everything that you heard while you were there and all week long,

you give no thought to God’s word. You exercise yourself concerning God’s word. Not at all. You don’t read it. You don’t use it. You don’t apply it. Then you come back the next week ago. All right, I’m ready for some more. Yeah, Just a flush it down. As you walk out and the Hebrew writer says, you’ve done this.

His accusation is you’ve done this for years. He said There was a time when you were expected to be novices, you were expected to know nothing. You were expected to only be able to handle what is spoonfed to you. But there’s a time where it’s, It’s time for you to stop being spoonfed and you to start picking up your own. And so he admonishes them.

I teach you this, but you haven’t prepared yourself to hear You. Haven’t prepared yourself to learn it. So I can’t teach it to you yet. This isn’t anything new. The apostle Paul in over in first Corinthians made the same argument Over to the church at Corinth. He said, I would tell you about spiritual things, but you’re carnal. And because you’re only trying to serve your flesh because you’re acting out of carnal,

your carnal nature and out of your sinful temptations and your sinful desires. And you’re at war with one another and you’re fighting against one another. And you’re only interested in your self-interest because your attributes are not spiritual. I can’t teach you spiritual things. So then he says, Verse chapter six, verse one, therefore, okay. So he said, God,

didn’t let the Israelites. And this is important. Don’t when you get into chapter six, if you lose chapters three and four in the midst of chapter six, you’re going to struggle With chapter six. Okay? The context of everything that has been stated to this point is Jesus Christ is better than Moses, and he’s a better high priest and he has a better house.

And he is a better than I already Say, high priest, sorry. I give Those better house. And he’s a better high priest. And his promise of rest is better than the promised land of old. Okay? But all throughout this, he sprinkled in this reminder that the people in the old Testament who were promised that rest, who lived under the high priest,

Aaron, who were part of the house of God in those days and who were under Moses rebelled and did not Receive the promise. Okay? So if you lose, the whole messaging of did not receive, the promise did not receive the promise did not receive the promise. You lose the messaging of be careful less, this great salvation that we have now had available to us.

We allow it to slip away. If you lose the messaging of let us not drift away. If you lose the messaging of let us hold fast, our confession, then you get to chapter six and you go, what what’s he mean? Okay. Chapter six, verse one, there for drawing all these things forward To a conclusion. He says, therefore,

leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ. What is he just rebuked them for being inadequate in knowledge and understanding. He said, you are after all these years and bear in mind. These are people who aren’t just Christians in the sense of like you and I think about ourselves, but they also had the miraculous gifts. Okay? Some of them had the gift of prophecy.

Some of them had the gift of speaking in tongues. Some of them had the gift of faith. Some of them had the gift of, of knowledge. All of these gifts are among them and they’re still sipping on milk. Okay? Therefore leaving the discussion of the elementary principals. Let us go on to perfection. Not laying again. The foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

two different ways. You might be able to understand this. And I know many brethren on both sides. One is a reference this latter, half of the verse, being a reference to going back to the old law and the works of the law of repentance, the works of the law that they did over and over dead works. They accomplished nothing. Someone else looks at it and goes,

no, I think this is all new Testament references, but what he’s, he’s not denigrating repentance. He’s saying it’s, there’s a point in your life where you need to move past sin, repent, sin, repent, sin, repent. What do you know about Christianity? When I sin? I repent. That’s all I know. You’ve got to move past that.

You need to move beyond that, to understand what God has done for you. I don’t think you do damage to the passage in any tremendous way, whether you understand it one way or the other, but let’s, let’s hold onto this for a minute. Okay? If he’s talking about new Testament practices, let’s just say that he is, what you need to understand is they are in context of Christians.

Who’ve never moved beyond the basics. And here’s the thing you that he’s telling them. You can’t be as a Christian. You can’t be a Christian who never moves beyond the basics. You are not doing it right. If you never move beyond the basics, notice what he says. He says, let us go to perfection. Not laying again. The foundation of repentance from the dead works of faith toward God,

a and of faith toward God. He says, again, notice emphasis, not the, the, the attribute of this is not repentance or faith, but laying the foundation for them. He said, you, you, as if you were building a house and you go dig out the foundation, you lay the foundation down. And instead of building the house on it,

you dig the foundation out and you lay the foundation and then you dig the foundation out. And then you lay the, you build the house. Okay? He says of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands of resurrection, of the dead and of eternal judgment. And this we will do. If God permits, he says, I’m going to get you there.

I’m going to get you past the basics if God gives me time. But he says for it is impossible for those who were once enlightened. Now, this is where you got to hold on all this old Testament stuff, where you got to keep track of everything that he’s just warn them about and how they’ve been compared. If they continue the path they’re on,

they’re being compared to those in the wilderness. They’re being compared to those at Mount Sinai who had the opportunity to enter the rest of God. And when they refused, God said, you’re never entering my rest. Okay? That first generation, he didn’t say you get it fixed. And maybe after 20 years, I’ll change my mind. He didn’t say that.

Now watch for it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. If they fall away to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves, the son of God, and put him to an open shame.

Israel Went through their time in Egypt, witnessed 10 plagues that inoculated the nation of Egypt and didn’t touch a hair on their head while they were in Egypt. And then they came out of Egypt with all Egypt’s riches And glory. And then they saw the red sea parted and they crossed on dry land. And then they looked back and they saw Pharaoh in his army wiped out by God.

And then they went to Mount Sinai and they heard the voice of God speak to them directly. And they saw the mouth burning And every step along the way, they murmured and complained and rebelled. And then they get to the edge of Sinai and they send spies in to go taste of the land and the spies come back and say, we can’t do it.

And they said, let’s kill Moses and go back to Egypt. Didn’t they? They said, let’s kill Moses and go back to Egypt and was a single one of them allowed to enter. God’s promised land, Not a one. Joshua who spied out the land, Kayla who spied out the land and both of whom came back in and did everything they could to convince the people.

No, no, no. We need to go now w we can take it. God’s on our side. Let us go up. They entered the promised land. Moses, when he Stood before the people and they’re murmuring and they’re complaining and exalted himself and struck the rock, instead of speaking to it broke a type of Christ. Okay? The rock that gives water in the wilderness is a type of Christ.

But how many times was Christ smitten once or twice? Once the first time God told Moses, you go smite the rock and it was smitten. And it gave forth water. The second time God said, you speak to the rock. And in smiting, the rock he typology here, smote Christ a second time. And you read in Deuteronomy where he pled with God over and over and over again,

to be allowed to enter the promised land. And God said No. And eventually God said paraphrasing here, and don’t mention it again. Now read this verse one more time. Are these verses for if four, it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come.

If they fall away to renew them again to repentance, since they have crucified again for themselves, the son of God, and put him to an open shame. This whole analogy is brought forward here to the Christians, the Jews who are there, they were maybe, perhaps, even some of them were alive and standing in Jerusalem on that day. And they witnessed his death.

They witnessed him on the cross. They, their people were the ones who said, let his blood be on our hands and on our children. And now they’ve known salvation. They’ve known the truth. They’ve been given the miraculous gifts. They’ve tasted of the heavenly calling. They have had salvation and they like Israel are contemplating the fall, Kill Moses and go back to Egypt.

And the warning is, did a single one of those people ever enter my No. Okay. Was there a thing they could do that would have put them back in a position with me where they would have entered my rest? No. For someone to say, I know what Christ did. I know what he did for me, but I consider him guilty.

All right. We’re all the way back at the judgment. We’re all the way back in the courtroom of the judge, the innocent one comes up, says, here’s the law. The judge says, in what part have you violated? They did it in no park. And someone who once followed Christ stands up and says, crucify him, crucify him.

He’s guilty. That’s the picture that God puts before us of the one who it is impossible to turn back because they know everything they know. And when you reach that degree of rebellion, where you say he’s guilty, not, I don’t care. Not I want to live my life the way I want to know he should have died. He said that guy,

he’s never coming back. It’s not going to happen. Okay. That’s chapter six, verse six. And we’ll get the rest of the chapter when we get to it. All right. Thank you for your attention.<inaudible> Just trying to get to my stories, right? Oh, it was this own. Yeah, I guess it is. Isn’t it,

you know, sometimes it’s hard to get the translations right. About some things. So I don’t want to mess up or at least try not to. I know Ava thinks I’m going to probably while she’s looking at me and granted, and I do, I, that’s exactly going to say our one here this evening. It’s always a pleasure to be in a class together.

And we’re there. And teaching that class. I think we all gained quite a bit of understanding and knowledge about some of the scriptures that maybe have puzzled us from time to time. And he, he clears them up for us. And we appreciate that so much. Aaron w we’re blessed here to have them here is I, I know you already know that because I hear it from every one of you from time to time.

It’s good to see everyone here this afternoon. And we’ve, we’ve had a great Bible study together and we hope that our viewing audiences has joined us in that and have been uplifted by it just as we should. Every time we come together, we have a few announcements we want to share with you. Dorothy, Wilson will be having a treadmill test this Friday.

They’re still trying to get her blood pressure under control. And she’s been struggling with this for some time. And there are probably some others in here that might be struggling with that from time to time. I know of a few, but anyway, if we have high blood pressure problems, most of us do. So the doctor wants her to test her stomach for stomach cancer because of all the stomach issues she’s been undergoing,

but they can’t do that scope until a, I guess, because of her recent heart attack. So that complicates things for them, but keep Dorothy and your prayers. And also Rodale’s brother passed away. And his wife dimple is that that’s old Dale and his wife dimple is on a ventilator, I think. And they’re not expecting her to live as well.

So keep that family in your prayers. Tori Heisley, we mentioned was having problems with the think pressure on her optic nerve. They found out that Schumer, the MRI showed that the tumor had not grown any. So that was not the issue with it. They think she has a DEMA of her optic nerve that is causing the eye problems. So keep her in your prayers and those doctors that will be administering to her.

I believe that’s Oh, I wanna mention Gladys has not been feeling well and they’re doing some things to maybe help her feel better. So we want to keep Gladys in your prayers from time to time, she has some problems. So we, most of us do occasionally. So, but lattice at her age and whatnot, maybe her problems are a little bit more difficult for her than they would be for us.

So keep her in your prayers. I think, are there any other announcements I need to ask that, Oh, I talked to Pam today. I knew there was something else I need. And she said, she’s been having been a little nauseated and having some back problems or pains. And she just not feeling very well. So you might want to remember her.

I asked her was anything we could do far. And she said, she let us know if it was, she’s got a real good neighbor that she can call on from time to time. That really helped her out a lot. So keep her in your prayers. And are there any others that maybe I didn’t know about Terry? Y’all doing good. Okay.

And Marie, you doing all right? All right. Good. All right. I think that’s everything. Then Michael’s going to lead us in our songs. Aaron would be bring us the devotional. And then Murray has a closing prayer. If you would Mark song number 931, wake up. Oh, sleeper. That’ll be the song of invitation number 931 nine three one.

Then the song before we hear from Aaron will be number 979. I am a poor wayfaring stranger, 979. Give you all a moment. I know it takes a second to find a song market and then find another song real fast. Nine, seven, nine. I am up. Oh, wayfaring strange. Wow. TRIBE.<inaudible> yeah. There’s no<inaudible> and a bride to which I go,

Oh, I’m going<inaudible> I’m<inaudible> I’m on<inaudible> I’m on<inaudible>. Oh, no, duh.<inaudible> me. I know<inaudible><inaudible> for me where God’s<inaudible> the<inaudible> the, she said she me, me<inaudible> I’m a<inaudible> I’m a<inaudible> of Oh,<inaudible> from every TRIBE. Oh my body’s<inaudible> and<inaudible> drop<inaudible> Oh, on my grade re Whoa,

I’m going<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Hebrews chapter three, verse 16. We read for Who? Having heard rebelled. He would write her ass. Who is it? Who is That heard? And then rebelled. Indeed. Wasn’t not all who came out of Egypt, Led by Moses. Which, which one of them, The group of Israelites, which one of them having heard rebelled.

And he says, all of them did. It’s it’s it’s a Generic, all of them in the sense of there, there were two. Ooh, that didn’t Joshua and Caleb, but all of them did. He said now with whom was he angry? 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness and to Whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest,

but to those who did not obey Now, did They not obey? Because they didn’t hear, Oh, no, that wasn’t the reason they heard. And yet They would not obey. So we see That they could not enter in Because of on belief. Now, G Jesus said in John chapter eight, verse 24, except you believe that I am,

He ye shall die in your sins. Go back to him. Yeah. Hebrews chapter three, verse 17. Now with whom was he angry? 40 years? Was it not those who sin, Whose corpses fell in the wilderness? You’ve got kind of two parallel pictures here because the Hebrew writer is writing to these Christians. He’s writing to them, telling them if you do what they did,

you’re going to get the same results. They got. Jesus tells the Jews in the first century, if you do what they did, they saw what God promised. They saw what God testified to them with, with miracles and with signs, with wonders, they heard what God said, and then they Jack did it. So he says, if you do what they did,

you’ll die in your sins for the Israelite who came out of Egypt. The warning of God was, if you disobey, if you turn back, if you rebel, you will die. The warning in Jesus’s day is if you see, if you hear, if you turn back, if you rebel, you will die. And the Hebrew writer says to all of you who are Christians.

If you see, if you hear, if you refuse to obey, if you rebel, you will die. Therefore, verse one, since a promise remains of entering his rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. Those Israelites in the old Testament came right up to the edge of the promised land. They were a days March away.

I, they never went in. And these Christians, he said, you’re right up on eternity. And you’re looking at turning around and going back. Why, why would you do that? Why would you fall short of that promise when it’s right in front of you and all you have to do is be faithful. So our question tonight is if you’re here and you’re a member of the body of Christ,

and you have been immersed in water for the remission of your sins, and you have risen again to walk in newness of life, and you have looked at Turnitin in the eye and the promises of God in the eye and turned around and gone the other direction. Why and why not come home? If you have need of the invitation, it is available to you.

If you have need of prayers, they are available to you now. And any time, if you have need of anything, why not come as we stand. And as we sing My God, well shine. His light will shine and hearts of man, the fruitless deeds of darkness pass revealed by Christ.<inaudible> wake up sleeper rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you.

Wake up, sleep<inaudible> and Christ<inaudible>.<inaudible> no fruits.<inaudible> goodness truth. A new day breaks. Oh, is clean. Give things to God and Jesus Christ wake up<inaudible> and Christ shine on you.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> You pray with our God and our father. We thank you for Jesus Christ. We thank the, you have this opportunity to come and hear your words spoken and be encouraged to follow in every way,

your word prescribes, forgive us of our sins, father heifers, to strive to do that. We’ll be with those father who are hurting from loss of loved ones. Cross with him. Father is only, you can be with those that are sick and struggling to get better. Be though we’ll restore them to their health ankle for this night that you’ve given us to come and to learn about Jesus.

He thinks about us in Christ’s name. Amen.

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12-06-2020 – Hebrews 3-4 (Class) & The Gospel is the Solution (Sermon)

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams, Sermons, The Book of Hebrews by Aaron Cozort

Bible Class Questions

HEBREWS – Hebrews 3-4
Jesus Is Better than Moses; Jesus Is a Better Rest

  1. Who/Which is better: (a) Moses or (b) Jesus?
    (a) House or (b) builder?
    (a) Sabbath rest or (b) eternal rest? Hebrews 3:3; 4:1-11
  2. Who makes up the house of Christ? Hebrews 3:6
  3. When should believers encourage each other in their faithfulness?
    Hebrews 3:12-14
  4. Why were many of the Israelites led by Moses not allowed to enter into eternal rest? Hebrews 3:18-19; 4:6
  5. To what is the Word compared? Hebrews 4:12
  6. How much of each individual can God see? Hebrews 4:13 
  7. Why can Jesus sympathize with our weaknesses? Hebrews 4:15

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Alrighty. We are in the book of Hebrews. We started with Hebrews chapters one and two on Wednesday night, and we’re going to continue with chapters three and four this morning, and then five and six on Wednesday night.<inaudible> I’ll double check. See if I can get a list printed off for the order of the classes for the rest of the quarter.

So that those who want to be reading ahead can do that. We have AF after taking an impromptu vote on Wednesday, we’re going to continue with covering the questions from the class before at the beginning of each class. So that we kind of use that as a review, keep what we talked about in the previous class and in the forefront of our minds as we get started.

But let’s begin with a word of prayer, dear heavenly father. We thank you for this day. We thank you for its blessings. We thank you for all that you do for us on a daily basis, we ask that you be with us as we go through this time of study, we are mindful of those who we are separated from because of COVID.

We are mindful of those that are throughout the world who are serving and ministering and evangelizing in places of, of great difficulty. And we pray that in all of those situations, they will be able to be blessed and prosper in serving you that they will be healthy and able to continue their work in their labors. We ask that you watch over us as we go throughout this day and the remainder of it way,

the worship that we offer to you this day be that which is in accordance with your will and in spirit. And in truth, we ask that you forgive us when we sin and fall short of your glory, all this, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. By way of just kind of a quick thought review. What is the primary audience of the book?

All right. Jewish Christians. What were, what, what was the reason that the book of Hebrews was written to these Jewish Christians? Okay. Right. There were, some of them were considering turning back to the law of Moses and drifting away or turning away from Christ. The Hebrew writer who is not identified like very few other books of the Bible.

This is one of those books that just simply the author is not provided. The pen bin is not provided. Some have suggested it’s Paul, some have suggested as Timothy, others have suggested it’s neither. And it’s somebody else. Ultimately it’s the Holy spirit, No matter who, Who writes it, but it is interesting in its writing style, in that all throughout the book,

as the writer addresses those who are struggling quite frequently, if not exclusively, as he says, you basically, here’s what you’re struggling with. And here’s the solution. He includes himself in the solution. He says, let throughout the book, he says, let us, let us, let us, let us. And so he is, he is writing style is,

is such that he’s constantly bringing, not just the, the realization of what they need to do before them, but he’s including himself. He’s he does it in a, in a very inclusive way to say, this is what we as Christians must do. And so it’s, it’s very interesting in somewhat a contrast to some of the other books of the new Testament.

Alright, let’s go over the questions from Wednesday. Question Number one from Hebrews chapters, one and two. How did God speak long ago to the fathers, By The prophets? How has God spoken to the readers of Hebrew through Christ or by his son? Question two after completion of what task did Jesus sit down at the right hand of the majesty on hot Purged,

our sins, okay. Number three, who is better Jesus or the angels, Jesus. And that brings us there in that, that question to really the theme of the book of Hebrews all the way through is that Christ and his law and his house and everything that he created and everything that he did as part of the new covenant is better than the old covenant.

Why was Jesus made a little lower than the angels for a little while?<inaudible> All right. For the suffering of death, taste death for every man discuss the eternal nature of the earth and heavens, All right, It’s not eternal. It will perish, okay. Discuss the eternal nature of God. He will remain. He is unchanging. Those are kind of two of the things that are brought out there in those verses,

who has the power, excuse me, who had the power of death, the devil, how did Jesus render him powerless? All right. By defeating death, or another way you could say that is through death. He used the devil’s own tool against him. All right. Why do believers need to pay closer attention to what they have heard so that they do not slip away or less?

They drift away? What does Jesus do in his service as our high priest?<inaudible> He intercedes and makes propitiation for our sins or pays the price for our sins. Okay. So that’s kind of in very short form chapters one and two, the focus in chapters one and two is Jesus is better than the angels. Secondly, Jesus is our high priest.

Thirdly, Jesus overcame death. And if you return back to the law, given by angels, as the Hebrew writer describes the law of Moses, the law, given my angles, you’re returning to an inferior law. And if you’re returning to the old law, you’re referring to ref you’re returning to an inferior priesthood. And if you’re returning to the old law,

you’re returning to a law under which there was judgment and death and no solution. Okay. So chapter three, you have, and it is, it’s kind of amusing. You know how I feel about chapter breaks to begin with let alone chapter breaks that begin with the word, therefore like, okay, here’s the law, here’s the argument. And now stop right there.

All right. Now here’s the conclusion. It’s like, w w why did you stop before the conclusion stop somewhere else? But the problem with the book of Hebrews is it is long one continuous argument there, which is why I think about half or more of the chapters begin with the word, therefore, okay. Because Hebrew writer never stops making his argument.

He just keeps rolling. So we begin with chapter three, verse one, therefore, Holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession. Jesus Christ. Now, what does the word apostle mean in its literal sense? Not now talking about what was the office, but what’s the word mean? 1 cent. Okay.

So he is 1 cent and he is the high priest. Okay. He is sent by God, nicotine. This John chapter three said to Jesus, we know that you’re a messenger sent from God. You’re a man sent from God for no one could do the things that you do, except God be with him. Okay? So this, this idea here is he is the one who God sent,

but then also you have here his high priesthood, but it’s the high priest of our confession. Here. You have Jesus acting in his intercessor capacity. Jesus Christ is not just the high priest who goes in before God to make the offering for sin. But he is that continual intercessor on behalf of us. Okay? Now this word confession here. We generally think when we hear the word confession,

confession of sins, that’s not really the idea here. This is profession. Profession of faith is really the better idea in this context. So he is the high priest of our profession of God. It is closer to the idea of one who confesses the name of Christ, as opposed to one who confesses sin that they’ve done wrong. So those are two different ideas that are in the new Testament in English.

It’s kind of the same, same word, but it’s important to really kind of keep the two ideas, separate one, being a profession of faith, a declaration of faith, and one, a confession of wrongdoing and admittance of wrongdoing. So who was faithful to him who appointed him as Moses also was faithful in all his house as we go through the,

the book and we’re going to continually get a comparison and a contrast. Now we’ve talked about angels. Now we’re going to move into the discussion of Moses. The Hebrew writer is as he describes, and as he compares Jesus to the old Testament, you’ll notice throughout the book. It’s not in any way, a denigration of the old Testament. It’s not in any way him denigrating Moses or the angels,

or later on in Hebrews, chapter 11, all those who by faith, by faith, by faith, by faith did this and that. No, no, he’s not saying Jesus is better. And therefore you should, you should just, those people ignore those. We don’t need those. Those are unimportant. No, no, no. That’s not his attitude.

His attitude all the way through it is to glorify those who did these great things here. He describes Moses as one who was faithful in all his house was Moses. Perfect. No, but was Moses faithful? Yes. And so the Hebrew writer in no way is taking away from Moses. He and said, is saying, Jesus Christ is faithful like Moses,

but ultimately we’re going to see, he’s not only faithful like Moses. He’s also better than Moses. Okay. So notice what we read for who was faithful to him, who appointed him. That’s a pointed, I carries back to that idea of the apostleship as Moses also was faithful in all his house for this one, being Christ has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses in as much as he who built the house has more honor than the house.

The Hebrew writer is going to use it analogy here. It’s, it’s going to kind of cross between through, throughout this text, the analogy of a household and the physical structure. Okay? The, in the old, in the old and new Testament, you’ve got the house of God. And sometimes we’re talking about a physical structure, and sometimes we’re talking about the people of God and the Hebrew writers going to kind of use both.

He’s going to use the analogy of both. He’s going to describe Moses, being faithful in the house of God. And he’s going to describe Christ as being faithful in the house of God. But as the builder of the house of God, when you look at a structure, when you look at a house that house has in and of itself, it,

it has recognized it has Laura. You can look at a house and say, wow, somebody really put some time and effort into this. But even that phrase right there, somebody really put some time and effort to that. You, you realize that back behind every house is Tom buddy, who actually made it into what it is and what the analogy is going to be here in Hebrews.

Chapter three is Moses was faithful in the house. Jesus is the builder of the, and in view of that, the greater glory is the one who built the belongs to the one who built the house, not the one who served in the house. Okay. So there’s the analogy. As we go through this for every house is built by someone, but he who built all things is God.

Now that he writers already described the creative function of Christ in the old Testament, or excuse me, in, in the beginning of time in creation. So when he says he who built all things as God, he’s not looking straight at the father, he’s looking straight back to Christ. Okay. So verse five, he says, and Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant for a testimony of those things,

which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a son over his own house, whose house we are, if we hold fast, the conf the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope from, to the end. So here’s where kind of the analogy jumps from the structure idea of building to the people he says, Moses was faithful as a servant. Moses served in the house.

Moses was one who was faithful as a servant for a testimony of things that were to come. He said, what, what Moses did as Moses laid a groundwork, Moses set a foundation for things that looked forward all throughout the book of Hebrews. We’re going to find the, a significant emphasis on types and anti types. In other words, the old Testament tabernacle as a picture of eternity of heaven of the church,

the, the functions of the high priest as a picture of the real high priest, the functions of the sacrifice as a, under the old law, as a picture of the true sacrifice, Jesus Christ. So there’s going to be this constant analogy. And what he’s going to emphasize here and introduce is everything Moses did as a servant in the house of God,

looked forward to one who was to come. If you’re doing something and you’re serving to accomplish something that is, is being done to look forward to something else, what’s the greater thing, the thing you’re doing, or the thing you’re looking forward to you’re laying the foundation. John, the Baptist was to prepare the way of the Lord. He came beforehand to set things ready for one who would come,

would come after. And John, the Baptist said concerning his own place in view of Christ. I’m not worthy to stoop down and unloose sandals. The one who prepares the way for someone else is of less glory than the one he’s preparing the way for. Okay. So there’s what the Hebrew writer is saying here, but Christ as a son over his own house,

whose house we, We are First Timothy chapter three, verse 15. I believe it is. Paul writes to Timothy and says that he needs to be faithful in or describes him how to be faithful and how to behave in the house of God. Is he talking about how he’s supposed to behave in the church building? No, Hi, I am regularly.

And you all know it telling my children how to behave at a church building, but that’s not the instructions that Timothy is getting from Paul. Timothy is getting from Paul, how he ought to behave in the house, which is the church of God. So as we read here, verse six, that same idea is brought forward Christ as a son over his own house,

whose house we are, the Hebrew writer is not declaring all of humanity to be the house of Christ. The house of God. He is declaring the church to be the house of God whose house we are. If we hold fast, the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope from to the end. There’s something that is required. If we’re going to be in the house of God,

we have to hold fast. The word of God, if we let go of the word of God, where do we stop belonging To the church? We stopped. We stopped belonging to the house of God. We’ve told God like the prodigal son told his father, I don’t need you anymore. Give me what belongs to me and let me go. And it was in this,

this, this relationship is considered as if that child was dead. He was no longer part of the house. He was no longer part of the household. Okay. And yet he comes back. So verse seven, the Hebrew writer wants to address their faithfulness. Now he’s just said, Moses was faithful. Christ was faithful. Christ is greater than Moses,

but you’re going to become unfaithful if you returned to Moses instead of Christ, okay? Notice what he says. He says, therefore, as the Holy spirit says today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. As in the rebellion, in the day of trial, in the wilderness, where your fathers tested me, tried me and saw my works 40 years.

Therefore I was angry with that generation and said, they always go astray in their heart. And they have not known my ways swore. So I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. This refers back to Psalm 95, Psalm 95 looks back at the actions of the previous generations. Going back to those who came out of Egypt and tries to exhort the Israelites of his day,

not to be like the Israelites that came out of Egypt, the Israelites that rebelled, the Israelites that God said, you’re not going into the land. I’ve promised to you. I promised you a land, but I promised you a land. If you would be faithful and you won’t be faithful. So you’re going to wander in the wilderness for 40 years and you’re going to die out here.

You’re not going to enter my rest. But the view here is Jesus Christ, who is better than Moses is going to provide a rest that was better than Moses is rest. Moses brought them to the promised land. He didn’t get to go in himself, but he brought them to the promised land. He brought them to the rest. God had offered them under the old Testament,

but Christ brings us to a better rest, verse 12, but where brethren less there being any of you and evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God, when he, when the Hebrew writer looks at these Christians who are considering going back to the law of Moses, he doesn’t describe them as those who are going back to an inferior law by the law of God.

He describes them as those who would be departing from God, because God has said, I’m done with that. I’m done with that covenant, that covenant is over that covenant was there for a time to lead you to a better covenant. If you go back, you don’t just leave the covenant. You leave me. Okay? So he says, beware brother,

unless there being any of you in evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God, but exhort one, another verse 13 daily, while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin for, we have become partakers of Christ. If we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said today,

if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the day of the rebellion. So he harkens back to Psalm 95 again, and he says, listen, just the same way the Psalm is writer said, don’t go back to the rebellion. Then I’m exhorting. You don’t go back to the rebellion again. I don’t want you to turn your back on God.

I don’t want you to be fall or to become falling or fall prey to the deceitful ness of sin. But here’s how you do it. And this is kind of one of those things. I think we’re not really Good at as a church. Yeah. Not speaking of us, either the congregation, But the church today. He said, It says here in verse 13,

but exhort one another Daily you’ll look at acts chapter two. And it asks you After two, when the church is first created, when they have Pentecost closes out. One of the things that you read in acts chapter two verse 42 is that they continue Daily. In one accord, they can Continued in the Apostle’s doctrine. They continued in breaking of bread.

They continued in fellowship and in prayer. Well, We’ve gotten a little close to the mode of, well, I’m going to be with my brother and on Sunday and Wednesday or for some people see them Sunday morning, and then I’m not gonna, I don’t need to think about them again until next Sunday or next Wednesday. And yet the Hebrew writer says,

listen, you’ve got to guard your brethren. You’ve got to exhort your brethren. You’ve got to encourage your brother and you need to do Do it daily. That’s not just a problem for members. That’s a problem for preachers too. We, we all have to think about the things that our brethren are going through and the difficulties they may be having and the help they may be needing because It’s a lack quite often,

a lack of communication with brethren Causes a person who was faithful to drift away and not be brought back. How many times in the life of a congregation does somebody who’s showing up. Who’s faithful. Who’s assembling, who’s working slowly but surely stopped doing what they were doing. Stop doing a little bit more. Stop doing a little bit more. Stop attending on one,

one service, stop attending for another service. And pretty soon they’re Just gone. And sometimes It happens in congregations. And no one says Because they did it Just get up and leave. When they were active duty. See if they had been, if they had just walked out, when they were doing all of those things, somebody would have said, Whoa,

Wrong, but what happened? They drifted Away. Go back to chapter two, verse one. Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard. Lest we drift away. Why does a ship that wants to stay in one place, put down an anchor because a ship can’t stay in one place without an anchor. The only way you can do that is either you keep putting yourself back in the same place.

I run that motor and keep driving yourself into the same location. Or you got to put an anchor down, but you put a ship on water and it doesn’t matter how it really, I mean, outside of a perfectly calm day in a perfectly calm with no current Lake or pond. If you put a boat in water, it’s going to move unless you anchor it.

And by the way, the Hebrew writer will describe Jesus Christ as the anchor of our soul. Okay.<inaudible> yeah, absolutely. That, that, that’s a good point. You know, and, and this, again, not just exclusive to our congregation, but a struggle that exists in a lot of places in the world right now, because of COVID.

And because we have vulnerable populations of people that, that, you know, are, are susceptible to this disease. It’s easy to say, well, what let’s keep our distance, but we also have a lot of means and opportunities and technologies available to us. And let’s face it. The ability to go stand in their yard, seven feet away from,

and still go see them still interact with them and not let go of this responsibility to encourage and exhort and help those individuals in their faithfulness. So something we need to be mindful of. He says here today will, is the day that we need to be focused on. We can make plans for the future. We can make plans for what’s to come,

but the focus of our faithfulness, the focus of our interactions with our brother and needs to be on the here and now, not just the future. So then he says, verse 16, for who? Having heard rebelled we’re we’re getting back To that old Testament group. Those people that came out of Israel or came out of Egypt, those Israelites, they Heard it now,

when they heard it, Wasn’t Moses got up and told them the law. No, that’s not what he’s talking about. He’s talking about those Israelites who stood at the base of Mount Sinai and heard God Speak. And they still rebelled. They Had an interaction with God where they were so terrified. And he’s going to get into that later on in the book,

they were so terrified by the presence of God that they said, Moses, you go up on the Mount and you hear his words. And instead of him speaking directly to us And those same people didn’t believe that God could overcome the giants in the land. And the Hebrew writer says who having heard rebelled, Indeed. Was it not all who came out of Egypt led by Moses.

Now with whom was he angry 40 years? Was it not those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness and to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who did not obey watch this, he says they heard, but they rebelled. They were those who came out of Egypt, but he left them in the wilderness.

He caused them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years till they died. They were those who were living and were promised his rest. And yet they died not having received the rest. And why? Because they heard And did not obey. They turn back. Why do you think It is of such significance that Jesus described Dives? The wise man and the fool there in the end of the sermon,

On the Mount, in Matthew chapter seven, who’s the Wise man builds Upon the rock. And Jesus describes the one who builds his households on the rock as one who hears and Does what gods He says, but who’s the foolish man. The one who builds It’s hell, It’s on the sand. And he’s the one who here And does not do what God said.

Same point being made here. All right. And to whom did he swear verse 18, that they would not enter his rest, but to those who did not obey. So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Therefore, since A promise remains of entering his rest, God hasn’t removed that promise. God told those in that day,

here’s my rest. You can enter into it. Here’s what you need to do. Here’s what’s required of you. Now go do it. And they didn’t. Now God has promised us in the eternal rest. He said, here’s what you need to do. Here’s what what’s required of you. Now go do it. He said, since that promise of resto remains,

let us, here’s this, this declaration, here’s this beckoning that he does throughout the book. Let us fear lest any of you seem to have, seem to have come Short of it For indeed. The gospel was preached to us as well as to them, but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith. Those who heard it.

Now, I struggle with people who will Try and hold onto a doctrine of faith only and go through the book of Hebrews because did they believe what God told them? Yeah. Otherwise they wouldn’t have left Egypt. They wouldn’t know. They wouldn’t have come to Mount Sinai. They wouldn’t have stood there. They believed it. But did they? No. And so here he says the gospel was preached to them.

The good news was preached to them. The good news to Israel was the promised land. The good news to us is the rest offered by Christ eternity with God. But he said, they Fell short. You, We need to be faithful. We need to be diligent. Let us hold fast so that we don’t I’ll fall short as well For we who have believed do for we who have believed,

do enter that rest as he has said. So I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. Although the works were finished from the foundation of the world for, he has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way and gone rested on the seventh day from all his works. And again, in this place, they shall not enter my rest since therefore it remains that we must enter it.

And those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of just obedience. Again, he designates a certain day saying in David today, after such a long time, as it has been said today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts for if Joshua had given them rest, then he would not afterward have spoken of another day,

therefore, or excuse me, there remains therefore a rest for the people of God, for he who has entered his rest has himself also seized from his works as God did from His, he says, God ceased. And his laborers when he created this world, not saying God’s not active anymore. He’s saying God did what he was going to do in creating this earth and creating this,

this dwelling blaze and creating this universe. And then He ceased, he stopped. He was finished. And yet he says to his people, I’ll give you something more, But this is what you have to do to get it. This is what you have to do to receive It. What did any of us have to do to receive the universe God created in the first six days?

All right, Let me ask you this way. What part did I have in me being here? None. All right. I didn’t have a choice. I’ve had a lot of choices since then, but getting here, I didn’t have a choice. Now, my mother said that I was kind of stubborn and didn’t want to come for about two months or two weeks.

And so, you know, there was this, is he coming? Is he coming? Is it? But the reality was me being here. Wasn’t a choice of mine. I’m here. But whether or not I enter God’s rest is a choice of mine. It requires hearing and believing and acting out of faith in obedience in order to enter that rest.

So he says, therefore there remains a rest for the people of God, but you don’t get it. If you go back to Moses, you don’t get it. If you turn away from Christ. So he says again, let us, he petitions them again. Verse 11, let us therefore be diligent to enter his rest. If you’re going to get there,

you’re going to have to work for it. You’re going to have to be diligent. You’re going to have to put effort into getting into the promise. Rest of Christ. You’re not going to accidentally slip into heaven. It’s not going to happen. You’re not going to accidentally wake up one day and hook life’s over. And I got to heaven. No it’s not going to happen.

You’re going to get there by giving diligence. He says, therefore, be diligent to enter that rest list. Anyone fall, according to the same example of disobedience, whose example the Israelites, the Israelites that came out of Egypt, they have provided us an example of how not to enter God’s rest and we can fall the same way they did, but he says,

let us give diligence, let us be diligent to not do that for the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing. Even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him,

to whom we must give account. Seeing then that we have a great high priest. Now here’s an interesting thing. He says, let us give diligence that we don’t follow their example of disobedience and then says, because the word of God is like, what? A two edge sword, a sharp two-edged sword. What is that? Eh, for, for any group of people that lived under Roman rule,

what is that harken to mine? The sword of a Roman soldier. They didn’t use the, the, the swords like were used in the, in the days of the pirates on the sea. And in, in early American times, sharp on one side, they used a sword that was sharp on both sides. It cuts you coming and going and God’s word here.

Oh, that’s interesting. We, we often describe this as the scriptures. God’s word, the scriptures contextually and grammatically that may not be accurate because the very next verse points out and there is no creature hidden from his sight. Grammatically. It is completely acceptable in this passage for the word to be Christ in the context, the word as a sharp two-edged sword,

being a description of Christ and his actions as, as the one who is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, okay. Either way. It’s very hard to separate as John describes him, John chapter one, the word from the, the word he gave, okay. Christ from his word, but he says seeing them that we have a great high priest context,

he’s talking about Christ. Seeing, then we have a great high priest who is passed through the heavens Jesus, the son of God. Again, third time in this chapter, let us hold fast. Our confession he’s brought us all the way back to where he started in chapter three, verse one, he’s the high priest of our confession. Okay. Let us hold fast to our confession for,

we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us fourth time. Therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Now on Wednesday, we’re going to pick up with these verses because we don’t have time to really get into them the way I want to right now,

but he’s described Christ as better than Moses. He’s described the rest of Christ as better than the rest of the promised land. And now he’s going to, again, describe Christ as a better high priest. And we’re going to discuss that as we get into chapter five comments or questions. All right. Thank you for your attention.<inaudible> the boys did.

Okay.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Good morning. It’s certainly good to see everyone here this morning. We’d like to, Oh, I was trying to see what time it was. I thought he was raising his hand. I thought he was more than a bit of hope. Hold up a minute. We do want to welcome those in our viewing audience.

We hope that this will be very uplifting for you too, as we worship together. And we certainly miss those that are normally here, but are staying in due to the virus. It was good to see everyone here today, especially those of you that are visiting with us. It’s our pleasure to have you here. We would like to have you fill out an attendance card.

So we might have a record of you being here. If you don’t mind doing that. And we, we do appreciate you coming and worshiping with us today. We do have a few announcements. We want to share with you. If you haven’t already picked up the Lord’s supper, we want to remind you of that right. Quickly in the back of the auditorium.

This would be a good time to do that. If you fail to do that, like I did, I just walked right in without it. So I’d have to go back and get it, but be sure and do that. We want to remember our sick Joan spring, or I didn’t get a chance to speak to Marie when he came in. But I think she’s,

she has good days and bad days. So hopefully she’s having better days. We, we pray that that’s the case. Dorothy, Wilson, I understand has been in the ER, some and actually she’s gotten home. She has been having chills. So she’s not sure whether or not she’s come down and with anything or not. So keep her in your prayers.

Also, Rudy has a twin brother ODALE and his wife Demple have COVID and he is not doing very well. And they really don’t expect him to live. So keep North and Rudel in your prayers that they’ll be able to come through this. Okay. And I know that it’s a very trying on them with his twin brother, looking like that. He might die here over this thing,

Tori, hi Ansley had her MRI and they’re waiting to hear the results of that. So keep her in your prayers. Also, Robin woods has pneumonia and we want to continue to remember her. Also, remember Jessica, she’s still having some health problems pray that there’ll be able to do those things that will be helpful for her to get back to normal way of life man’s meeting will be the 12th.

It’d be next month, a week from this Monday on the 14th. So keep that in mind. And we have a agenda item sheet on the bullets and the board there by the office. If you have anything you would like to be, to be discussed in that meeting, please go by there and, and write that on that sheet so that we can take care of those particular things.

Gary Carter would be speaking on tithing tomorrow night on the 9:00 PM nationwide gospel meeting that you can call in, or there’s a sheet on the table there in the four years. The best way to do that, just pick that up and it’ll tell you what you need to do in order to hear that or see it on the live stream. We want to mention that Noah Olson,

one of the young man from the school of preaching is here for a three month trial period. And hopefully it will be ongoing for the remainder of the time that he’s in school. So if you have not met Noah, please take the time to meet him and welcome him to the church here at Collierville. We’re glad to have him. He led our song service a Wednesday evening,

did a very good job and we want to continue to encourage him as well as Michael, as they go to the school of preaching and the work they’re doing, I have a card I’d like to read to you. Dear family, you all will never know how very lucky you made my Friday, the 13th, the beautiful flower spray had all of the files,

colors in them. And I enjoyed them for for many days, thanks to Sylvia and Diana and especially, yeah, to you, Eddie, what a brightful and delightful idea you had and carried it out through the throat. I can’t even read her own writing, carried it out so very well. I appreciate your thoughts, awfulness and the love. So very much I missed each of you so much this year.

May the new year find us happier, healthier, and in a, so much better place. My love in Christ, Suzanne, I’ll post this on the bulletin board there by the office or our service this morning, Michael Dale will be directing our song service. Eric Halverson has our opening prayer more Phillips has the Lord’s supper. Aaron Cozort would be bringing the message today.

And Tommy O’Neil Will lead us in our closing prayer. My first song this morning will be number 144 O worship the King one 44. Oh<inaudible> and green for Lee. Here’s one<inaudible> Oh shit. Dan. And the ancient<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> it streams from<inaudible> to play and sweetly<inaudible> for children de us and<inaudible> and<inaudible> and<inaudible> make defend.<inaudible> Ms.

Long before our opening prayer will be number 837. I need the every hour, eight 37. I need the every, ah,<inaudible> no<inaudible> I need the<inaudible> every hour. I need the<inaudible> to the, I need the every, ah, stay. Ah, ah.<inaudible> ah, ah, ah, I need the, a tiny, the<inaudible> the<inaudible><inaudible> the,

I need the, every<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> the<inaudible> the<inaudible> to the, I need the<inaudible>. Oh man.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> the,<inaudible> the<inaudible><inaudible> God, our father in heaven. We come to you at this time, thanking you for another opportunity to assemble here this morning in this building to sing songs, appraised your great name and to worship your great Lord.

We know there are many amongst us that are struggling with various ailments and we ask if it be your will, that you return them to a measure health that they so desire. But at this moment, Lord, I would like to especially ask that you reach out and comfort the Wilson family, especially Odell at this time. And if it be your will see him through this,

and if it is not your will, we understand that. Please comfort that family at this time of need. As we know only you can, God, we know that many amongst us fall short of your glory. And when we do, and we come to you with our shortcomings, we ask that you forgive us of those shortcomings and help us to stay on the straight and narrow and be your grateful servants here on earth.

And now, as we prepare to study a portion of your word, we ask that you help each and every one of us listen carefully to the message that brother Aaron is about to bring to us and take it and apply it to our lives. So we can be become better servants of yours here on earth. But most importantly, help us to have the courage to go out and reach out to those who have either fallen away from your word or have not had the chance to hear your word yet and bring your word to them so that they may also have the opportunity to make that choice and serve you.

We pray all this in your son. jesus’ name, amen Song to prepare our minds for the Lord’s supper will be number 386. He loves me. Number three, eight, six. Why did the save y’all have on the van come to me? Oh man, his grace Adri sea, the sea loves me. So he loves me. He loves me.

He loves me this. I know he gave him. So to, for me, the CACI loves me. So<inaudible> no way. And<inaudible> pray being CACI loves. So he loves me. He loves me. He loves me this. I know he gave himself to die for me. The car see loves me. So I feel the gardens ride for draws.

Why through his trials? Oh,<inaudible> cross B. CACI loves me. So he loves me. He loves me. He loves me this. I know he gave himself to die for me be<inaudible> At this time, we need to remember Jesus and his sacrifice that he made on the cross. Well, the scenes mankind, let us pray. Having a followed.

We’re thankful for this bread that represents jesus’ body. That was nailed to that cross for our sins. Pray heavenly father would partake of it in a worthy manner. Amen. And men or heavenly father that is particular. This fruit of the vine, the represents jesus’ blood that was shed on the cross for the sins of mankind and prohibited. Followed would partake of it and where the men are also amen.

Separate from the Lord’s table. We have an opportunity to give us with prosper. Well, let’s pray. Heavenly father. We’re thankful for the monetary gains we received in the youth through there out the years and pray heavenly father, you receive receive a portion back to you to help the car. You were church here. Continue its work. Amen. The song before the lesson will be number 443.

The precious book divine. If you could please stand for this song. Number four, four, three. Oh<inaudible> bye. Bye<inaudible>.<inaudible> hi to God. My Saul to<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> to my feet and to my way to guide me<inaudible> Oh, it’s sweetly. Cheers. My drooping. Oh<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> my feet. And like,

to my way to guide me<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> to my way to guide me safely. Oh, maybe seated and we’ll be on the slides, but if you would like to Mark number nine, one, one, that’ll be the song of invitation number 911. Good morning. Couple of announcements. As we begin our lesson this morning that we failed to get in the announcements.

There’s a family down in Texas, the Rodriguez family. We’d like you to remember in your prayers, old bed Rodriguez Rodriguez. The father was an instructor of the Brown trail school of preaching in Texas, him and his wife both ended up getting COVID and both passed away within about a week and a half of each other, leaving behind a 21 year old daughter.

So keep the Rodriguez family in your prayers in this time. Also wanted to make, mention this concerning Noah. He comes to us from Missouri and he actually, his family attends the congregation where my middle brother attends up in Missouri and preaches there part-time. So it is good to have him. We look forward to working with him and he was came, came highly recommended.

So we look forward to the time we’ll get to spend with Noah and looking forward to that, turning into a permanent thing. As we think about that, of course, keep in mind that the Dale family is, is coming up on their last two quarters and they’ll be looking for preaching positions. And of course that’s going to be a whole different ball game in the world of COVID because,

you know, normally you would just go travel around and visit a few of these places. And that’s going to be harder even just as a result of that. So keep them in your prayers. As they looked toward the future and graduation, there’s a lot of, lot of changes ahead In this world. We face some significant struggles and anyone who’s honest with themselves and the world we live in would admit that we don’t live in a perfect place.

We don’t live In a perfect country. We don’t live in a perfect state. We don’t live in a perfect city. We don’t live in a perfect World. And yet we also realize that many of the struggles of this year have been for much of the world, a word that we’ve heard over and over and over on the news, unprecedented, whether they are,

whether they aren’t in view of history. This is a reality. The world faces Wars, famine, homelessness, anger, racism, riots, hopelessness, struggles, And pandemics. But as you and I look at our lives and as we look at our lives in view of one overarching detail, and that is eternity, we view our lives in view of what Jesus said in Mark chapter 16,

Jesus, as he was preparing to leave this earth said in Mark chapter 16, beginning in verse 15, he said to them, the them in this context is the apostles go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved. But he who does not believe will be condemned. Jesus did not send his disciples,

his apostles or his church into the world to become ambassadors, governors, presidents, leaders in the business world, or even entrepreneurs. He sent his disciples into the world to preach the gospel. And as we face the problems that our world faces, as we face the problems and confront the problems that our world deals with every single day, we need to come to the realization that the gospel is the solution.

And again, we always live our lives and we should live our lives. In view of the temporary nature of our lives is the gospel, the solution to the pandemic. Will it cure COVID-19? No it won’t, but what does a person need to be ready for before their life is over? Whether they die of COVID-19 or cancer or a car accident,

or they die. When they’re 21 years old, from a bad Choice in every category, What they better have right before they leave this earth, no matter how it happens is their salvation. The gospel is the solution to the problems facing this world. If the gospel was being obeyed by the population of the world, would we have Wars? No, we wouldn’t.

If the gospel where Jesus Christ said to those who are on this earth to do to others, as we would have done to ourselves, would we have fighting’s among ourselves? If the gospel was obeyed and we were to serve one another first, instead of serving our own selfish desires in this world, would we have nation against nation? No. If the gospel was being obeyed,

would there ever be a reason for riots and protests in the streets? No. If the gospel was observed and obeyed by all the world, would there be Any hopelessness left? No. The gospel also doesn’t picture the world In that way. The gospel is honest with reality. Let’s begin in Luke chapter two. I want to begin in Luke chapter two,

because the beginning of Christ’s time on this earth was introduced in a certain way. It was introduced as a moment of change. Unlike anything else that had ever happened in Luke chapter two, beginning in verse eight. Now there were in the same country, shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night and behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them.

Now I don’t know about you, but I think probably throughout the span of time, that shepherds have been out in the fields at night with their sheep. The, the quantity of times that an angel showed up during that night is pretty low. This is a pretty abnormal activity and notice what, what happens and behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them.

And they were greatly afraid their responses adequate to the circumstance here. They they’re minding their own business. They’re tending their own sheep here. They are with their sheep and the glory of God shown from heaven and an angel stands before them. And they’re afraid. And yet the message The angel says to them do not be afraid, Afraid for behold. I bring you good tidings of great joy.

The angel says to these shepherds do not be afraid. I’m not here to punish you. Judge. You inflict harm on you. Do anything negative to you. I am here for the exact opposite reason. I am here to bring you good tidings, glad things. I am here to bring you the good news, but known as this other phrase, which will Searchie to all people,

Jesus Christ. As he entered into this earth, as he took on flesh, as he left heaven to become man, as he made himself lower than the angels to take on flesh, he came and in his coming, he brought good tidings of glad things to all people, not just to Israel, not just to the Jews, not just to one nation,

but to the entire World. Verse 11 for there is born to you this day in the city of David, A savior who is Christ. The word there in the Greek would have told these Hebrew shepherds in the Hebrew, the Messiah who is the Messiah, the Christ Lord, and this will be the sign to you. We’ll find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,

lying in a manger, Or rather on usual place for a child to be lying who had just been born. So all of this will occur. But what I want us to focus on is the entrance of Christ came and was proclaimed as a solution For the world, the gospel and the good news That was first hearkened by these angels and was brought forward by Christ was not National.

It was not territorial, but it was universal. It Was, as the angel said to All people turn to John chapter three, John Chapter three, beginning in 15, Jesus makes it clear as he is speaking with Nicodemus, that the gospel is the solution to the problem that all The world has Beginning in John chapter three, beginning in verse 15, we read that whoever believes in him should not perish,

but have eternal life for God. So loved the world that he gave. His only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Jesus says to Nicodemus this Jewish teacher, this Jewish instructor, that the problem the world has is the world is headed towards destruction. The world, its population, not the universe, not the planet.

Jesus isn’t here concerned about global warming. He’s concerned about souls and he says, these souls need salvation, or they will perish. But when that salvation, they have the opportunity at eternal life. But then verse 17 for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world. But the world through him might be saved. Now some might come to this passage and say,

ah, look, Jesus Christ came in the world. Now we all will have heaven Without exception. Of course, that would be wrong because, Because they might’ve stopped just a little too soon. Verse 18 says he who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God.

And this is the con the condemnation that the light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds Were evil. Jesus, as he speaks to Nicodemus confronts the reality of the situation, God sent his son into the world because the world was going to perish. And those who are part of the world needed salvation. And God loved the world and loved those souls that were in the world enough to give his only begotten son.

And he didn’t send them to this earth to condemn it. He didn’t send them to this earth to destroy it. He sent him to say It’s and yet Jesus will be the first to admit that not all the world will be saved because as he said, those who do evil love darkness rather than light. So what is it that will condemn world their refusal to obey the gospel,

their refusal, to believe that which God has said, but as we notice the gospel as the solution to the world’s problems and, and it is if we will simply obey it, the solution is universal. The gospel is universal. This problems that can be solved are universal, but they must be sought Solved individually. But then notice as well. The gospel is the solution because the gospel is the divine power for a helpless world.

Romans chapter one, Romans chapter one. And in verse 16, Paul writes here to the church at Rome, a church that had not yet been visited by an apostle, a church that did not yet have the gifts of the miraculous, the miraculous, the gifts of the Holy spirit, a church that did not have in its presence. Those who could perform miracles,

who could speak by revelation the way and profits who could speak as those did in Corinth and here, Paul writes to them any, He says to them, I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes he identifies that God sent the gospel to the Jews first, but also to all of the non Jews to the Greeks.

He says, God has brought forward a gospel that needs to be preached. He said in the prior verse verse, verse 15. So as much as in me is I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome. Also, Paul said, the gospel is what needs to be praised because the gospel is the power of God to salvation.

But turn to James chapter one in James chapter one, as James writes to the first century church, he writes to these brethren who were struggling with a number of things, but he says to them in John and James chapter, one beginning of verse 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness,

the implanted word. Now, wait a minute. Paul wrote that the gospel is the power of God to salvation. Why do we need the gospel? We need it Because we cannot save ourselves without the gospel. We are helpless without the gospel. We are hopeless without the gospel. We stand before a God who says, you must be judged and you must stand righteous.

And we will all stand Romans chapter three, verse 23, as those who have fallen short of the glory of God, whose wages Of our sins will be death. Romans chapter six, verse 23. And yet God says, it’s okay. I’ve presented to you the gospel. And it is my power to save you. James writes that we need to lay aside the filthiness,

the overflow of wickedness. We need to receive with meekness, the implanted word, which is able to save our souls. When we look for the solution to the world’s problems, it’s been here, it’s been sitting here for 2000 years. It’s waiting for us to actually do it. And then we can begin to have some solutions to the world’s problems. The gospel is the solution because it is the divine power for a helpless world.

God acts through the gospel, but also the gospel is the solution to the world’s problems because the gospel is the light of God to a world in darkness. Turn to second Corinthians chapter four, second Corinthians chapter four, beginning in verse one, Paul writes, therefore, since we have this ministry, the idea of ministry there is service. Since we have this service,

as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. One of the struggles that Christians have at times is we look at all of those who won’t obey and go, how will we ever make a difference? And yet when Jesus Christ left this earth, when Jesus departed, ascended into heaven and left behind those who would change the world and they did,

he didn’t leave behind an army of a million people. He didn’t leave behind the government. He didn’t leave behind the King. He didn’t leave behind a constitution and he didn’t leave behind a group or a nation willing to change everything at a moment’s notice, he left behind 12 apostles and 120 disciples who were assembling with them. And those 12 apostles and those hundred and 20 disciples didn’t stay still.

They didn’t stay stagnant. They changed the world to the point where a few decades later, it was stated that these were the people who had turned the world upside down, Jesus Christ. And so Paul says, since we have this service, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God.

Deceitfully. But by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. He says, even if there are people who cannot see what we’re trying to teach them, even if there are those who cannot see beyond their own clouded vision, their own sin,

their own bias towards iniquity, to be able to see the hope that stands before them, we will still not lose heart. Why whose minds the God of this age has blinded speaking concerning the devil who do not believe lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God should shine. What’s he saying, he’s saying The line of God is here.

The light of the gospel is present. The light of the glory of God is available to them, but they’ve shrouded themselves in darkness. They shrouded themselves in sin and they won’t let go of sin nearly long enough To walk into the light and Understand the truth. He says, verse five for, we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus, the Lord and ourselves,

your servants for jesus’ sake for it is the God for it is the God who commended light or commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shown in our hearts to give light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus. Here’s the thing we need to understand the same. God who spoke and light came for is Same God who said,

I’ll give my light to Mike People and my light will go for it. So we don’t lose heart. We instead preach the gospel because the gospel of Jesus Christ is the light of the world. But then also the gospel is the solution Because the gospel presents freedom to an enslaved World. We hear so much discussion in our society today about slavery, about Those things that have happened in our past,

in this country, those things that were unjust and those who were treated unjustly, and even those who are in other nations and in other places who are still in slavery to this day, here’s what we need to understand. You do not obtain true freedom by living in a country. That’s free. You do not obtain true freedom by having a government that dwells over you not tell you,

you are enslaved. You do not obtain true freedom in this life because you are born into a country that has no class system, or there is not someone who tells you what to do. You obtain true freedom in the way Jesus described in John chapter eight in John chapter eight, verse 31, Jesus said to those Jews who believed him, if you will buy it in my word,

you are my disciples, indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. And unless we’d begin to believe that the people who heard him, the people who were standing before him, the people who believed him in the prior verse immediately accepted that reality. And immediately believed that what he said was true. If we were to read the verses the follow-up we’d find out,

they immediately argued with him. They said, we’ve never been enslaved. Jesus said, Oh, you’ve been enslaved because you do the deeds of your father, the devil. He was a liar from the beginning and you do his works true. Freedom is not the absence of someone over us in this life. True freedom is salvation and freedom from our sins.

No matter our station in this life. So if we want to promote freedom in this world, by all means, we need to start promoting the gospel that provides that freedom. God did not solve the problem of slavery in this world by sending democracy or socialism or humanism or nationalism, he sent the gospel, but then consider As well. The gospel is the solution to the problems the world faces because the gospel that was given is a straight gospel in a crooked world.

Philippians chapter two, Paul writes to the church at Philippi and he writes to them as he confronts a number of issues, but also writes to these, this congregation that was very close to him. They had supported him while he was preaching while he was ministering, while he was going on these missionary journeys, they had supported him when no other congregations did.

He had a closeness to them that he didn’t have with many others. And he says to them in verse 12 of chapter, two of Philippians, he says, therefore, my beloved brethren brethren, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure.

What’s what’s Paul saying, Paul is saying, you know what? Just figure out your own way to be saved, right? No, that’s not what work out your own salvation means. He says, you have the commandments of God, you they’ve been delivered to you. Now do It. Do What must be done to obtain your salvation. Not as though I am standing here right over you looking over your shoulder and saying,

no, no, no, don’t do that. Do this. No. So much more. So in my absence, as you did in my presence, but in stand, he says, God works in you. How does God work in us? When we do what he commanded us to do in the gospel? So then he says, verse 14,

do all things without complaining and disputing that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine As lights in the world, Hold fast, the word of life. So that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I may have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes.

And if I am being poured out as a drink, offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason, you also be glad and rejoice with me. Paul says I spent my hours, my time, my labor, my effort to come to preach to you, the gospel. And I don’t want my labor to be in vain.

And so he rejoices in the fact that they were faithful. He rejoices in the fact they were obedient. He rejoices in the fact that they were working and accomplishing what God Would have them to do, but he identifies the reality. They were alight in world. That was perverse. They were alight in a world that was Crooked. And is the world any less perverse or crooked today?

No, That means we must still be That light. Romans chapter five, Romans chapter five, beginning in verse six, Paul makes it clear. Gospel is the solution to the world’s problems because it presents the wonderful love that God had for a hating World. And we struggle with hate in this world. We struggle with hate within homes and families. We struggle with hate within those who are in a community.

We struggle with hate in our name. It doesn’t matter who won the election Cause there’s lost souls on both The sides and This president and the next one and the one after and the one all the way back at the beginning, won’t save yourself And they won’t save our country. They must Only do what they have been given the power by God to do.

And God will set up whomsoever. He will and give power to whomsoever. He will, but this, I know it is the gospel that will change the hearts and souls of men. Romans chapter six, verse five, sorry, five verse six for when we were still without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly for scarcely, for a righteous man,

will one die yet, perhaps for a good man. Someone would even dare to die, but God demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died For us, but God demonstrates his own love tore us that while we were still sinners, Christ died For us. The gospel Is this a solution to the world’s problems because it does not require us to first be worthy of the solution Before it will grant us the solution 10 or sorry,

verse nine, much more than having now been justified by his blood. We shall be saved from wrath through him for if we were, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled. We shall be saved by his Life. The gospel is the solution to a hating world because it was the light Love of God,

granted to a world that never deserved Until it came in contact with the blood of Christ, but also, and finally the gospel’s the solution to the world’s problems Because the gospel presents the unsearchable Riches of Christ to a world in poverty so much can be said about the state of the economy in this country, countries all over the world. And so much is said on a regular basis.

But the value of the dollar will never determine Your riches, The value of the dollar and the quantity, which you possess of the dollar will never determine Your riches or your poverty. Second Corinthians chapter eight. Okay. Paul writes to these Corinthian brethren who are being reminded of their responsibility to give, as they have promised to do on behalf of the Jewish Brasier brethren that were in poverty,

that were in the midst of a struggle in second Corinthians, chapter eight and verse nine, we read for, you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich yet for your sakes. He became poor. Now wait a minute. What does he mean? Jesus Christ, inhabited heaven. He had the glory of the father.

He had the glory of God. He was deity. He left all of that to be born as a human, to have nothing to grow up, not enriches, not in the house of a King, not in the house of a, of a master, not, but in the family of a carpenter, He left those riches CA became poor that you through his poverty might become rich.

Jesus lowered himself to take on flesh to become lower than the angels that he through suffering might taste death for every man. But Ephesians chapter three, Fijian chapter three, We read this beginning in verse eight. To me, Paul writes to me who am less than the least of all the saints. First and foremost, Paul recognizes his own reality. Paul,

doesn’t say I, the greatest of all the apostles, he doesn’t right. I, the one who is your teacher, he doesn’t say I, the one who gave you everything you have, he said, I, the one who am The Le them less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given that I should preach among the Gentiles,

the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ, to the intent that now the manifold wisdom, the many sided wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in heavenly places, God,

in his unsearchable riches that he brought forward in Christ as established a church, an assembly of people, the called out from the world. And they are of such significance that Paul identifies that the church is what showed the wisdom of God to principalities and powers in heaven. When God said, I want to show you my wisdom. He didn’t say, look at this great nation I’ve made.

No, no, no, no, no, no. He didn’t say, look at this great King of the earth that I have. No, no, no, no. He didn’t do that. When he said to all those who are in heaven, see the majesty of my wisdom. He said, look At my church. Beginning of the ages that had been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ,

to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. According to the eternal purpose, which he accomplished in Christ Jesus, our Lord in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in him. Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you,

which is your glory. Paul would write these words from a Roman prison. Paul would be sitting in prison on trial in fear of his life. Having appealed to Caesar, Been brought to Rome and almost killed in the process. Yes. And he tells these Ephesians brethren don’t lose heart. Don’t lose heart because of my predicament. Because you look at Christ church,

you look at his gospel. You look at my ministry. That was granted to me, not because of my greatness, but because of God’s grace Greatness and his mercy, that I have been able to declare the unsearchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles. Paul writes to these brethren and says, you remember, you’re part of the light. It doesn’t just shine to the world around you,

but declares the glory of God in heaven itself, Gospel is the solution to the world’s problems, but it can only solve the world’s problems by the actions of the church, acting on behalf of God, which confronts us with a reality that we are to be the solution to the world’s problems, but it will not happen if we are not first obedient to God’s gospel that he’s given to us in our own lives.

We cannot be the solution to the world’s problems. If we won’t first SAR solve our own. So have you done that? Have you taken the gospel that Jesus said, except you believe that I am, he, you shall die in your sins. Have you taken the gospel where he said he, the believer and is baptized shall be saved. And he,

the believers have not, shall be damned. Have you taken the gospel where Jesus said, if you are not obedient to this and repent, you are without hope And have you first corrected your own life by entering into the blood of Christ, Entering into a relationship with him, entering into the church, the assembly of God, by being baptized into Christ And having your sins washed away,

because you cannot solve the world’s problems by holding a political office or rioting in the street or anything in between, but you can solve the world’s problems. One soul at a time with the gospel of Jesus Christ. You’re outside the gospel of Jesus Christ and outside of the church of Christ. You are without hope, but you don’t have to stay there. You have need of the gospel.

The gospel is waiting for you. If you have questions and need help understanding it, the church is waiting for you. All you need to do is ask if you have any meat, why not come forward now as we stand and as we say, He will create a new<inaudible><inaudible> he<inaudible> a<inaudible> bring him your<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> troubles you. Oh,

bring it. Oh,<inaudible> nah,<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> on to the, with<inaudible> but<inaudible>. And<inaudible> The song before our closing prayer will be number 622 ring out the message. I need my men to sing out on the base part for this for me please. Number 622. There’s a nurse. It’s true in glad for their sinful in the SAC ring it.

Ah, ah, it will give them courage. It will help them to be true. Ring it. Ah, ring it up.<inaudible> speed it away. Nurses G fine. Send it today. It’s sheer.<inaudible> Marilee ring. Wonderful news. Making men free, happy and free green, green, green, green.<inaudible> tell the world of saving grace naked,

known in every place.<inaudible> help. The needy wants to know him from whom all blessings flow<inaudible><inaudible> away or nurses and see, send it today. Let it cheer. Nah,<inaudible> darkness in doubt. Merely reading wonderful news. Nikki men free, happy and free green, green, green, green.<inaudible> down to sweep away.<inaudible> for Jehovah’s my Tucson ring it,

ah, ring it. Ah, ah, merrily ring the speed it away. Or messages diva and see send it today. Let’s cheer. NA<inaudible> the news wonderful news that makes making men free. Man. Free, happy and free ring, ring, ring, ring, ring.<inaudible> Yeah. You bow with me, our heavenly father. We thank you for this beautiful Dave.

You’ve given us to enjoy. We thank you for each and every opportunity that we have to gather as your children to worship you and to study that word, her God, no one. Then our adherence to your will and word is the salvation for all of Mann County. For those that seek it, our heavenly father, we know that as mortals, we do send against you.

We pray that you forgive us of these Sans. As we repent of them, strengthen us that each day of our lives, we might be an example to those lost souls around us. Our heavenly father would pray for all of those mentioned here today, that her sick and that our morning because of the loss of loved ones, Compartamos dear God and heal those that are suffering with this virus.

If that be though will our heavenly father, we ask that you go with each of us, protect us, keep us safe and help us to be a light unto the world around us. The things we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

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12-02-2020 – Live Stream – Hebrews 1-2

In Bible Classes Videos, General by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> good evening. We are going to go through the questions for revelation 22, and then we will officially be finished with the book of revelation. Now, as you would have it, the other classes are about four or three lessons into the book of Hebrews. And instead of starting in the middle of the book, we’re going to start at the beginning,

prying catch up before, you know, a year from now. So I think we’ll be able to do it. Revelation chapter 20 twos questions, question one. What proceeded from the throne. God. All right. Water of life for whom did the tree of life provide healing for the nations? Who is the light of the church today? The Lord,

God. All right. When would these things happen that were written in the, or to the first century church? All right. Shortly things are shortly to come to pass. Who and who alone are we to worship God. Number six, Daniel was told to seal up the words of his prophecy. What was John told not to do with his prophecy and why not to seal them up?

And why? Because the time was at hand who invites people to partake of the tree of life and the water of life. All right. Spirit and the bride, There’s a typo on number eight who has access to the tree of life and the water of life. Okay. Those that do his commandments, that of course being Christ’s commandments, what will happen to the person who alters the book of revelation,

All right. Taken out of the book of life and what will be added to him, the plagues that are written in the book of revelation. Okay. So don’t do that. All right. Just, just on the, on the list of things not to do, put that one on the list, don’t do that. Do not alter the book of revelation.

Of course, that is equally true for any other book, but of the Bible, but certainly the book of revelation. All right. Book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter one. Now the lessons that in, in the material have for at least the majority of the book, have us going two chapters at a time. So we’re already going to be moving right along just to stay,

stay on track, but we’ll, we’ll take it as it comes. Let’s begin with a word of prayer. I think I skipped to that at the beginning, but start there gracious father in heaven, we bow before your throne grateful for this day that you’ve given to us the life that we have and the opportunities that we have to serve you. We’re grateful for all of the things that we have been blessed with in this world.

And all of the many freedoms we have in this country, we pray for those that are struggling with COVID. We pray for those that are struggling with financial difficulties. We pray for those that are struggling with the difficulties of life in general, mindful of those who have lost loved ones in recent days, pray for them as well. We ask that you forgive us when we sin and fall short of your glory and are willing to repent of those things.

We pray and are thankful for Jesus Christ who came and died on the cross for our sins. All this, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. The book of Hebrews is written to the first century church, but it is dressing very specifically the Jews among the first century church, specifically Jews who were going through difficulties, going through persecutions, going through hard times,

going through the difficulties of being cast out of their synagogues, being cast out of the society that they lived in as part of the Jewish culture, because they were Christians. And because of that, there were some of them that were considering going back to the law of Moses. They were considering going back to Judaism and the Hebrew writer addresses his book to confront the problem,

but also to provide them the reason why that’s such a bad idea. I mean, if you think about it from one form of reasoning, you say, well, wait a minute, this was a law given by God. This was a law that, that was with the Jewish or with the Israelite nation for almost 1600 years. It provided for them during that course of time,

why would it be such a bad thing to go back? Which back to the, which came from God to begin with, but the Hebrew writer sets out exactly why that would be such a bad idea and why it was in complete opposition with God’s desire for them. Okay. So he begins. The Hebrew writer does with God, God who at sundry times and in diverse ways,

spake in times past to the fathers by the prophets has in these last days spoken unto us by His son. The very first thing that the Hebrew writer begins with, the very first thing that he addresses is God has not stopped speaking. Now that’s of significant, especially to the Israelite nation, because the very last prophet to prophesize was Malakai. How many years had it been from the birth of Christ going backwards to the time where Malakai was alive prophesied Over 400 years,

400 plus years where God said Through the profits, nothing and yet too, The first century church, the Hebrew writer begins with God Has spoken. So when you begin to go, you know what, I’m going to go back to the old thing. The old thing, the old covenant, where God finally stopped speaking, and you’re going to ignore the,

the revelation from God. That is current. We have a problem. He says he splits In various times. And in various ways he spoke in times past by the, or to the fathers by the prophets has in these last days, spoken to us by his Son whom he has a Appointed heir of all things through whom also he made the Worlds. So He begins first with Revelation.

He says, you should obey Christ because God spoke through Christ. Second. Certainly you should obey Christ because he is the creator, Oh, everything, everything. And then he goes on to say who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person. And I’m holding all things by the word of his power. When he had by himself,

purged, our sins sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Thirdly, you should obey Christ because everything that exists now exists because of his Power. He knows Not only created it, but he upholds it. It continues to because he allows it to, but fourthly, you should listen and obey Christ because he is on the throne. Now we just spent an entire series of study on revelation,

which the single major point of the entire book of revelation is Jesus Christ is on the throne. It doesn’t matter who sits on the throne in Rome, Jesus Christ is on the throne. So here we are in the book of Hebrews and the points to the Jews, to the Israelites, those among the church that are of Judea Judaistic background is Jesus Christ is on the throne.

When was the last time that there was a God appointed King on the throne in Israel? Say what? Well, I mean, in the sense of the lineage of David, the tape going down the lineage of David, when was the last time there was a child of David sitting on a throne in Israel, Keep going. When Nebuchadnezzar came and removed the last son of Solomon from the throne in Israel,

Zedekiah was the last King in Israel. When they went into Babylonian captivity, God said, no more. God told the King, your lineage will not continue. And he didn’t. Now Jesus Christ would come from the lineage of David, but not from the line of Solomon. Okay? That lineage ended. God said there will be no more Kings to sit on this throne.

So 400 years before God stopped speaking under the old covenant 600 plus years before God removed their King under the old covenant. And now Jesus Christ comes and he is both King and prophet. And now you’re going to go back to the old one. You’re going to go back to the old law. You’re going to go back to the old covenant. You’re going to go back to the old profits.

After hundreds of years of God’s saying I’m, I’m done. Okay. All of this is just the introduction. This is just the Hebrew writer getting started. He hasn’t even made an argument yet. He had just set forth the premises of if all of these things are true, we’re we’re done before the discussion begins. But notice what he says, having become so much better.

Then the angels he, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name, then they beginning here. The, the argument line, the, the line of argumentation of the book of Hebrews is going to be Jesus Christ is better. And he’s going to, you go item after item as to why Jesus Christ is better than everything that came before. And he’s going to begin with angels.

Okay? So you, Jesus Christ is better than the angels. Now the angels are going to be significant. We’re going to see this as we get into the text, because it was through the angels. Again, this is something that we’re being told here, kind of retroactively that God, the old wall. Okay. So notice what we read. He says first and foremost,

he has a better inheritance than they do notice as well. He says for two, which of the angels did he ever say to which angel, what specific angel did God the father ever say, you are my son today. I have forgotten you. Well, the is none of them to knowing angel ever did say, you are my son. Now you say,

well, wait, wait, wait a minute. W we read about in the book of job where the, the sons of God came before him, and we know that’s talking about the angels. Yes, collectively God speaks of them as his children. And we know that Jesus Christ came to make us the children of God. And so even we are spoken of as sons of God,

and you go all the way back to Genesis chapter, I think five, it is or forward. And you read about the men that were living in that day being described as the sons of, Oh God. Yes. But to what individual, not a group, not those who are the offspring of God, but to what individual did God ever say today?

You are my son today. I have forgotten you. And the answer is only Christ. Okay? So he says, and again, with the Hebrew writer, he’s going to go arguments, argument, argument, argument, argument, argument. So much so that he’s just going to overwhelm the, the op the opposing argument. He says, and again,

I will be to him, a father, and he shall be to me, a son. Now, a portion of this, interestingly, because we just talked about the kingship of Christ. A portion of this comes from second Samuel chapter seven, where God tells David, I’m going to give you a son. And your son is going to rain on your throne.

That is of significance in the life of David, because had there ever been a son of a King in Israel who rained on The throne after the father? Not in David’s day, there hadn’t been. Cause there’d only ever been how Many Kings, One who proceeded him. And that was solid. And what happened to Saul’s throne, God removed it. Okay.

So God tells David, I’m going to give you a son and he’s going to reign on the throne. But the Hebrew Writer looks backward through the power of the Holy spirit and says the ultimate fulfillment in a Type and anti type situation of Solomon’s reign the descendant of David sitting on the throne that God is going to be talking about. Isn’t all ultimately Solomon,

because Solomon is going to die. But the throne that’s described in second, Samuel chapter seven is going to abide forever and ever he says, and so the ultimate fulfillment of that prophecy in again, in a type in antique type situation of Solomon and Christ Is Christ, not Solomon. So he, He says, you are my son today. I’ve forgotten you.

And I will be to him, a father. And he shall be to me, a son. But when he again brings the first born in the world, he says, let all the angels of God worship him and of the angels. He says, who makes his angels spirits and his ministers of flaming fire. As we go through this, he’s laying forth all of these situations where God has done something in the past,

and now what he has done with Christ shows Christ to be superior. Now, there is one, one aspect here, a verse verse seven and others angels. He says, who makes his angels spirits? One commentator made the point. And it it’s, it’s at least valid to note that the word spirits in the Greek is Maybe let me say it this way.

The Greek word for spirit is the same Greek word for the word Wind. Okay. And so the context is what determines, What, which, what meaning does this word have? Does it have the word wind or does it have the meaning wind or spirit? There’s an interesting point in that is so often God uses the wind and the fire in the old Testament as his messengers,

in the sense of when God wants to move the children, Israel, how were they led by Cloudy day? And what by night pillar of fire, when God wants to part the sea, what does he use? The wind. Okay. Oh, fairly regularly. Through the old Testament, you have God acting Through Natural means such as wind and fire.

Okay. Could that have been added Surely preformed or done by one of the angels? God says to an angel go part, the sea could an angel have done that? Yes. Well, Some might say, well, Aaron, how do you know that? First of all, if an angel singular in the old Testament texts can come in and overnight kill 185,000 In an army,

Good chance. He could also part the seas. If An angel can come over in the night and kill all the firstborn in Egypt, good chance. He can also part the seas. Okay? The point being whether it’s spirit or whether It’s wind, God’s Spoken of in the old Testament as using his angels to do these things. Okay. But to the sun,

here’s a contrast. God sends his messengers to do a job, but to his son, he says your throne, Oh God, God is for forever. And ever After of righteousness is the Sceptre of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore, God, your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions. So God here,

Jehovah addresses God and says, I’ve prepared your throne. God never addressed an angel. That way God never spoke to an angel that way God never prepared a throne for an angel. He did that for his son. Now he rider again is showing Jesus is better than the angels. Then notice what he says. And verse 10, you Lord in the beginning,

laid the foundation of the earth. And the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain. And they will all grow old, like a garment, like a cloak. You will fold them up and they will be changed, but you are the same and your years will not fail. So not only does God say to Christ here,

speaking one to another in old Testament revelation, I’ve prepared you a throne, but he also identifies him as the one who laid the foundation of the earth. He also identifies him as he terminal in nature. He also identifies him as an changing God never spoke in such ways about angels. He only spoke that way about if you think of it, this sense himself.

And so he speaks that way concerning Christ, but to which of the angels, another argument, all right, he’s, he’s made the argument that God never called. One of the angels, his son, he second makes the argument that the angels worship him. He thirdly makes the argument that he’s on the throne. He forcibly makes the argument that he created the earth.

He fifthly makes the argument that he’s eternal. He’s six. Lee makes the argument that he is unchanging and seventh. He makes the argument. You sit at my right hand to winter. The angels has he ever said, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies, your footstool. What is the, the right hand? What’s, what’s the significance of that?<inaudible> Preeminent most powerful,

most important in the, in the old days, when the King sat down, you would see the order of power. Beginning with whoever sits at his right hand. Whoever sits at the King’s right hand is the most powerful individual next to the King himself. Okay? So God says to Christ, prophetically speaking in the old Testament, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies,

your footstool, God father says to his son, I’m going to put you in a position of power. And then I’m going to deliver every one who will opposes you as those who will bow before you and to which of the angels did God ever say? He would do such a thing to none of them. Okay. One time after another, all throughout the book,

you’re going to see this God put forth or God putting forward. Here’s what happened in the old Testament. Here’s what I did in the old Testament. And here’s my son and my son is better than everything else. And here’s the points. We go all the way through this. Keep this in mind. This is not God going, eh, ignore all that stuff I did before.

That’s not what this is. This is God saying everything I did before was leading to this, go over to Hebrews chapter 12. Actually, let’s go back into chapter 11 for just a minute.<inaudible> In Hebrews chapter 11. He presents person after person, after person, after person, after person in the old Testament, who by faith, obeyed God by faith accomplished great things.

And then he says, verse 36, after he’s even talked about more and then just thrown in a whole group from the old Testament that, that he wants to point out, but doesn’t have time to go into in depth. He then says, verse 36, still others had trials of mockings and scourgings yes. And of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned.

They were sawn in two were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wondered about in sheepskins and goatskins being destitute afflicted, tormented of whom the world was not worthy. Talking about all these people who were faithful under the old Testament. They wandered in deserts and mountains in dens and caves of the earth and all these having obtained a good testimony through faith did not receive the promise.

God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great, a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin, which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance. The races set before us looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,

who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. The point of the Hebrew writer is not, none of this stuff matters. None of this stuff has any significance to us. Just ignore the old Testament. We’re not under the old Testament, so we don’t even need to read the no.

His point is, all this stuff looks forward to something. All these people who lived by faith and obeyed out of faith and dined by faith did so looking word to something and that something came through Jesus Christ. And so these all died in anticipation of it. And yet you Christians who are receiving it, receiving the thing, they died in faith, looking forward to you’ve received it.

And you’re considering going back what foolishness to go back against Christ. Okay. So verse 14 of chapter one, are they not all ministering spirits sent forth the minister for those who will inherit salvation? The Hebrew writers’ point is the angels. They’re the servants of God they’re ministering or serving spirits acting on behalf of those who belong to God. Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard.

He begins with God spoke by Jesus Christ returns after talking about Christ, being better than the angels to the poem Christ has spoken. So he says, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard. Lest we drift away for, if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward. How shall we escape if we neglect?

So great, a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders with various miracles and gives to the Holy spirit. According to his own will here. He addresses these Christians. And he says, if under the old Testament, the angel spoke and they gave the message of God.

And it was heard by the people and those who ignored. It were punished and Christ is better than the angels. Then how much worse will it be? If we who have heard Christ, ignore him To those who are Given a greater opportunity, God will hold them to greater accounts. So the Hebrew writer says what’s going to happen to us if we neglect.

So great salvation, he spoke to us, It was spoken by the Lord. It was confirmed by the apostles and those who heard him and has been delivered to them, To us, nobody gets to have the excuse. What, You know, if I had just been living in the days of Christ, if I had just seen his miracles firsthand, if I were just there in Galilee,

when he did those great things, maybe I would believe now the Hebrew writer says, that’s not going to work. You’re not going to get off that way. It’s been confirmed and testified to you can hold it up in a court of law and you’re accountable to it. Therefore you Need to be obedient to it. It was confirmed. It was born witness of,

with the signs and with wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy spirit. He said, you are beyond excuse Four versus five. And if it feels like I’m moving quicker than there, and there’s so much more here, there is so much more here, but we’re going to get through two chapters. We’re going to have to move. All right.

Four. He has not put the world to come of which we speak in subjection to angels. Okay. Next line of argumentation. We’re still talking about angels here. He’s just kind of dropped back into the whole revelation thing, but now he comes back. He says, and here’s another thing, God, didn’t put the world to come in subjection To the angels.

God, Didn’t say, when all this is over. When this age is completed, when the, the age of Christianity is done and the judgment day comes and we go into eternity, you’re going to be in subjection angels. No, he didn’t say that he instead put Christ in that position. But one testified in a certain place saying what is man?

That you are mindful of him or the son of man that you take care of him. You have made him a little lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet. Go wait a minute. I’ve read that passage in the old Testament.

And David is talking about humanity. Yeah, but it’s Ultimate fulfillment. Isn’t in humanity. It’s ultimate. Fulfillment is in Christ. That being, he put all things in subjection under his feet, verse eight, for in that he put all in subjection under him. He left nothing. That is not yet put under him, but now we do not yet.

See all things put under him. Somebody’s going to come along and say, but I see a lot of things that, that aren’t obeying the control of Christ. I see a lot of people who are resisting. I see a lot of people who aren’t doing what he says. Therefore it must not be that he’s raining yet. And he writer says, wait,

wait, don’t go there yet. Just because it looks like it doesn’t mean you understand the full situation and he’s going to take it to the furthest extreme of the greatest enemy. The greatest enemy that there could possibly be that needs to be overcome. And he’s going to say, if he’s defeated that one he’s defeated everything else. Okay. So notice what he says.

He says verse nine, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor that he, by the grace, God might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for him, for whom are all things. And by whom are all things in bringing many sons to glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Okay. This is hearkening back to Isaiah chapter 50 53, where God is saying, I’m going to send my servant. My servant is going to be killed. He doesn’t deserve it, but it’s your iniquities. I’m laying on him. It’s your sins that I’m laying on him. It’s by his stripes that you’re healed. Okay. He doesn’t deserve it,

but he’s doing it as a propitiation for you. Okay? So notice what he says. He says it was fitting. It was necessary. You couldn’t die for yourself and save yourself. You couldn’t stand by your own merits and works and save yourself. Someone had to die for you. And so he says it was fitting that this should be done. But then he says,

for both he who sanctifies, and those who are being sanctified are all one. For which reason, he is not ashamed to call them brethren saying, I will declare your name to my brethren in the midst of the assembly. I will sing praise to you. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, here am I and the children whom God has given me three different passages,

again, from the old Testament where he says, this is gone, looking forward to Christ saying that Christ as one who comes in the flesh, who dies in the flesh, who suffers in the flesh DIDs. So to be like those whom he would say we could spend untold numbers of classes, just talking about what it means to you and me as Christians to realize how much God cares for us.

Just how much God loved humanity that he took on flesh. How many passages In the old and new Testament speak about the love of God in view of the fact that he left heaven, he became lower than the angels to suffer and die for us. Did Christ need to do that? Was Christ Somehow unfulfilled in his role As the second person in the Godhead Was Christ.

Somehow just in need of something. When he created the world and created everything that exists, he somehow had something missing in his life. No, It was because he loved us that he did it for us, but he said he did it to call us brethren. Then he says, verse 14 and is much then as the children have partaken in flesh and blood,

He himself likewise Shared in the same that through Death, he might destroy him Who had the power of death. That is the devil. Okay. Now remember the line of argumentation is this. God said to God, God, the father said to Christ, you sit here at my right hand Until I make your enemies. He’s your footstool. And then the Enemy of all enemies,

Satan Is defeated. And his greatest weapon is defeated. When Jesus Christ didn’t stay dead. Notice what he says. He says 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their subject to bondage for indeed. He does not give aid to angels, but to, but he does give aid to the seed of Abraham. You Christians, you Israelites,

who are considering going back to the law. Do you remember what it was like when you looked at death with nothing but the law, when you had no help into eternity, other than the law and all the law told you was Your sin. God acted on your behalf. So many times, and God spoke of his loving kindness, and God spoke of his justification.

But God so often said You sinned. And if you confront death with the hope that you have being Sin, you face death in fear, but under Christ, you don’t confront death with sin. You confront death with the blood Jesus Christ. He says he overcame it, Overcame death because he gave you the answer to what’s. On the other side, He is he’s Waiting there for indeed.

He does not give aid to the angels Christ didn’t die for the angels Christ didn’t take on flesh for the angels. Christ didn’t become an angel to bear their sins. No, he did that for humanity for Christ did not give aid to the angels, but he does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things he has to be made like his brethren,

that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself has suffered being tempted. He is able to aid those who are tempted. He’s going to begin to introduce. He started off with revelation, came by Jesus Christ, then King ship with Jesus Christ. Now we’re into priesthood in Jesus Christ,

but in all of this, his emphasis has been chapter. The end of chapter one, all of chapter two is Christ is superior to the angels. And if he’s superior to the angels who God utilized in the old Testament to do all of these things, then he’s superior to the old Competent. Okay. That’s the focus of Chapters one and chapter two.

All right. I want this Show of hands who prefers to do the questions at the end of class or prefers to use them as a review at the beginning of the next class. So raise your hand. If you prefer the end of class, raise your hand. If you prefer the beginning of the next class, all right. Everybody agrees with me.

No. Well, almost everybody agrees. All right, we’re going to continue to do that because it does. It does lead us back into kind of gets those thoughts fresh in our minds. So we will continue to do the questions. I mean, you’ve got them, you can sit there and do them yourself in between classes, but we will use them as the review to pick up the next study.

So you’ve got chapters one and chapter two and Sunday, we will do chapter three and chapter four and going this quickly through the book of Hebrews is going to drive me crazy. But I’m not that far from crazy anyway. So not far to drive, you’re dismissed.<inaudible> Good to see everyone this evening. We’re glad to have you here. We don’t really have many announcements.

If any. I think we made most of them about Dorothy and Rodale Wilson or continue remember them. We miss Sylvia. I don’t, I’m not sure. I didn’t get a chance to talk to you. See, we’ve missed you Sunday though. We’re glad you’re back tonight. And there were several others that weren’t with a Sunday and they’re still not here.

I don’t leave the seating. So we do want to continue to remember Jessica and probably that she continues to make some improvements and Joan Springer. We want to remember her and our prayers that she continues to make some progress. We have a couple of issues with us, Jonathan and Sonia. It’s good to have them with us tonight. And then also no Olsen.

He’s going to school to preach. And some of you met him about a couple of weeks ago when it Noah, and it was good to see him tonight, as far as those that will be leading us in our devotional. Noah’s going to be leading us in our song service. Michael’s going to be ha having the devotional. And then Murray Springer will lead us in a closing prayer to appropriate time.

It’s good to have everyone here. We enjoyed the class off though. Although it was kind of a speedy li covered class. And sometimes at least some of us in the dust, you know, that’s about done, but Aaron he’s, he does a great job and we just need to be better prepared. I guess that when we come to their class and have read the chapter thoroughly and given it a lot of thought and consideration,

and that way we won’t be in the dust. So I just wanted to say that because we do need to do that. So we need to know what we got to be covered. I missed out on it Sunday. Cause one day you might’ve said, well, we’re going to, Oh, now, now we’re off the hook. All right, well,

I’m gonna let Noah come on up and, and direct our songs servers. All right. Number 454, five zero. Give me the Bible. Over 450. We’ll send the first and third, four 50. Give me the Bible star of gladness, gleaming to cheer the wander.<inaudible> no storm. Ken high that radiance BA spool BME, since Jesus came to seek and say,

the lost gave me the Bible. Holy name message. I need, I lied shower guide me and a narrow way. Crease. Then promise. Love. Come by. Name to night, shall vanish. Annie turn all day. Give me the Bible lamp of life. M or so. Oh, hold up that splendor by the open gray name, show me the light from heaven shining for its or show me the little ring gilding Jordan’s way.

Give me the Bible. The message I need. The light shall guide me in a narrow way, precept and promise law. And I’ve come by needing to night, shall vanish at any turn all day, right? If you want to go ahead and Mark number 915 Nine one five, we will sing the first and last dance for the song. Everybody.

Just one quick announcement. Before I do my short devotional, my mother-in-law is back in the hospital. She has pneumonia again. So I’m guessing they’re going to have to drain it with the needle. And so we just need to keep her in our prayers as she goes through this. Cause she’s not recovering as, as well as the doctors. And we would like,

so if he could just keep her in your prayers tonight, I want to talk to you about the word of power. Let’s read Psalm 33, six through nine, and I’ll wait for everybody to get their Psalm chapter 33 verses six through nine. Okay. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made and all the hosts of them by the breadth of his mouth.

He gathered the waters of the sea together. As in heap, he layeth up the death in store houses, let all the earth fear. The Lord, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in. Awe of him for he spake. And it was done. He commanded and it stood fast as Christians. We must all understand the power of God’s words.

The mighty works of God are wrought by the all powerful word that he gives. God creates God destroys. And God brings into being simply by speaking over and over again, we’ve read in Genesis chapter one and God said, let there be. And there was every single time. Let us consider again what David observes. We’ll read 33, six through nine and just read it,

really read it with me by the word of the Lord were the heavens made and all the hosts of them by the breath of his mouth, he gathered the waters of the sea together as an heap, he layeth up the depth in store houses. Let all the earth fear the Lord, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in. Awe of him for he spake.

And it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. Now I want us to consider what the apostle Peter says on the day of Pentecost in acts chapter two, acts chapter two 24 through 27.<inaudible> Whom God has raised up having loose the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be holding of it for David speaking concerning him.

I first saw the Lord always before my face for he is on my right hand that I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice. And my tongue was glad. Moreover, also my flesh shall rest in hope because that will not leave my soul in hell neither wilt thou suffer thine. Holy one. To see corruption here. Peter is saying that death could not hold Jesus because God said he would be raised.

God said it. And it happened every time. Now let us consider what God illustrates for us in Isaiah chapter 55, Isaiah 55 verses 10 and 11 For as the rain cometh down, something simple, right? The rain coming down and the snow from heaven and return is not feather, but water. Watereth the earth and make it that bring forth. And bud,

that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. And God says, so shall my word be that go with forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that, which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing where to I sent it anytime he speaks, it’s going to happen.

God, the son restores the life of the paralyzed man’s legs and Matthew nine one through eight, the man with the palsy, remember they had to dig through the roof to get him down there just by speaking. He restores his legs. God, the son forgives sins of that same man with the palsy Mark, two one in one through 12 God, the son restores sight to blind.

Bartimaeus on the road to Jerusalem and Mark 10 46 through 52. And God, the son raises the dead Lazarus in John 1138 through 44. He does all of these miraculous things, just at the command of his word. Can you imagine just sitting there or being there on that day when Jesus said Lazarus come forward and he walks out of the grave, his sister said he stinketh for,

he’s been dead for four days. He had been dead for four days and he called him just with his word and Lazarus came forth. I like what brother Marshall Keeble said on, on this topic. He said, if Jesus had not called Lazarus, by name, everybody in the cemetery would have come forth of just gives me chills. Thinking about it.

The gospel faithfully preached is the same powerful word. It brings spiritual life to the spiritually dead. Let us consider what Jesus says in John chapter five in verse 25, John five 25, Jesus said verily, verily. I say unto you, the hour is coming. And now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the son of God. And they that hear shall live just by hearing his voice.

We shall live. Our task is to faithfully preach his powerful word. He gave that task to us in Matthew chapter 28, verses 19 and 20. We’re supposed to go out and teach it to all nations. All of us are every Christian this week. I charge all of you to open your Bibles and read chapter one of Genesis. And as you read through chapter one of Genesis,

underline the phrase and God said, every single time you see it. And God said, and God said, and God said, and once you’ve finished doing that take time and a specific prayer to God thanking him for the power of his word. These are the words of life, my brethren. And if you teach the word to people, they can believe it.

And if they believe it, they can have eternal life right alongside you and see Jesus in the sky. If you have yet to obey these powerful words, the waters of baptism are ready for you. And if you have need of prayers from the saints, we’re here for you, whatever your need, please come forward. As we stand and sing Is more,

what a glory sheds on our way. Wow, we do his good will he abides with us and with all well trust and<inaudible> trust and Oh, bang four. There’s no other way to be happy and jeez, but to trust. And<inaudible> then in fallow ships, we, we lived in that has been, or we’ll walk by his side in a way what he says we will do wary sins.

We will go never fear on the trust and<inaudible> trust and Oh, bang four. There’s no a, the way to be happy and jeez, but to trust and, Oh,<inaudible> I think this opportunity we have to hear, you were read out loud. Here’s the thing we need to know. I don’t want it to be riding your side to always carry that with it at all time,

stay clean. And your thoughts tonight. Keep us safe from pandemic going on. We’ll just remove it from a given right name. We do pray.

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11-29-2020 Revelation 21-22 (Class) & The Last Day (Sermon)

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams, Revelation, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Well, my watch says it’s time to start. So we’re going to go ahead and get started. Okay. We’re in revelation 21 and 22.<inaudible> Good to see you, sir. Let’s begin with a word of prayer gracious and bountiful father in heaven. We come before you at this time, grateful for the day that you’ve given to us,

the life that we have and the opportunities that we have to serve you. We pray that as we go throughout this period of study this morning, we might glean the things from these passages that you would have us to learn. We might grow closer to you and understand, and be comforted by your word, and also admonished to live in a way that will prepare us for eternity.

We pray and are mindful of those who are struggling in this time because of illness, difficulty, injury, or struggles in their lives, or those who have lost loved ones. In recent days, we are mindful of each and every one of them. We’re mindful of our nation. And we’re mindful of the world. All of its many struggles and all of its many difficulties,

pray for those who are in difficult places, difficult times, especially those who are striving to preach the gospel in those locations and teach others the word that they might have the hope of eternity, pray that you be with us. As we go throughout this period of study and worship this morning may all that we do be in accordance with your will. All this.

We pray in Jesus name. Amen. So between Sunday and Wednesday, Last week, we noticed a number of passages in Isaiah, especially there are more in the sheets that you were given. There’s some in Zechariah, there’s some in Jeremiah, there’s some in Hosea that I don’t think actually made it on the list, but there’s passages all throughout the old Testament that give us the language of revelation 21 and 22.

They speak consistently concerning God’s people. And they speak of God’s people in one United context. And that context is victory over the enemies of God and God having judged his enemies. When God judges his enemies, God’s people get pictured in these sorts of ways because when God judges his enemies go all the way back to the end of revelation, chapter six, when God judges his enemies and the picture of revelation six is the rich and the mighty and the rulers.

And all the Kings are, are crying on the mountains, fall on us to protect us from the wrath of the lamb and the one who sits on the throne. And the question is asked in the day of the wrath of the lamb and in the day of the wrath of the one who sits on the throne, who can stand and the answer of the old Testament and the answer of revelation is God people can stand.

So when God’s people can stay in, in the day of God’s wrath in the day of his judgment on any of his enemies, the outcome is before God’s people were being persecuted. God’s people were going through the ringer. God’s people were suffering. Now they’re glorified. Now they’re exalted. Now they’re protected. And they’re raised up in a picture of the glorified people of God.

And that is revelation 21 and 22 can these passages and these things be applied to the church in eternity. In other words, could we use these pictures and say, wow, that must be what the church will look like in its glorified state in eternity with God. Absolutely. The church perfected with sin no more with suffering, no more with, with death,

no more any eternity with God, absolutely. That you could use this as a picture of that. The question is the question is always been, is that the context that John is writing about and the answer? No. The context that John is writing about is the church that comes through the persecution, the church that comes under attack by the beast under attack,

by Rome, under attack, by Satan and comes through the other side and revelation 21 and 22 are old Testament. Language of God’s people glorified when God judges, their enemies turned into language, talking about God’s church glorified. When God finishes what he had begun to prophesize and begun to tell them that they would induce her and go through all the way back in Daniel’s day.

God told Daniel when he gave a dream to Nebuchadnezzar that there were going to be four nations beginning with Babylon, continuing in the Mito Persian empire, continuing in Greece, continuing in Rome. And in the days of these Kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom, which will never be destroyed. And it will break us under. And why bullae all these other kingdoms and revelation is the new Testament counterpart where God says,

and I did.<inaudible> Makes it clear. Rome will be no more. And those who persecute my people every single time they come up will be no more because I will always defend my people. So revelation 21 and 22, we’re going to go through it fairly rapidly, but I want us to get the picture. I don’t want to spend a lot of time on the details.

I want you to see the picture. And as you think about the picture, think about this. The new Testament makes it clear. Jesus Christ came to this earth to set up a kingdom, not a kingdom of this earth because Jesus told pilot. If my kingdom was of this world, then my servants would fight. And yet his kingdom exists on this earth,

but not only on this earth, as you went through revelation, as we went through this, we always pointed out those who dwell on the earth was always a picture of who the wicked, those who dwell in heaven was always a picture of who the redeemed righteous people. Now in chapter 21, John’s going to see the city to send out of heaven.

So wait a minute. This must mean that this is when Christ comes and returns and rains on the earth, and God makes a new heaven and a new earth. And all the righteous people are going to live on this earth. Again. No, this is a picture of all the righteous people who John said in the day of Rome, never dwelled on the earth because the earth belonged to the wicked.

But now God has wiped out the world of the wicked. God is white roam out, and now he’s going to bring forth his people out of heaven, back to their rightful place. He’s going to give them a new heavens and a new earth. God didn’t wipe the face of the planet, clean in the days of Rome and remake it and turn it back into the garden of Eden and then build a great Jerusalem on top of a mountain.

And that city go 200 or 1500 miles high. He didn’t do that. It’s a picture of God’s people and the churches untouchable nature, because Jesus said this, remember this, actually let’s read it. Instead of just remembering Matthew chapter 16, verse 15, he said to them, who do you say that I am Simon, Peter or Simon, Peter answered and said,

you are the Christ, the son of the living, God, Jesus answered and said to him, bless it. Are you Simon? Barjona for flesh. And blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church. And the Gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. The entire book of revelation is Jesus Christ showing in the days of Rome, that what he said was true about his church and about his kingdom was true. That the Gates of Hades would not prevail against it.

The power of Satan would never win, not against his church. So revelation 21 verse one. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth. We saw that back in Isaiah. We’ve seen it elsewhere for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no more seat. Then I, John saw the Holy city, the new Jerusalem.

We saw that in Isaiah coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God turn over the book of Hebrews. And the Hebrew writer takes that language from Jeremiah chapter 31.

And he applies it to the church, not to heaven. He applies it to the church. He says, it’s here. And now he’s making the contrast of the days of the tabernacle, where God said, I’ll dwell with you and your midst. But those people couldn’t enter the tabernacle. They, the high priest could go into the tabernacle, but they couldn’t.

Moses could stand before God, but they couldn’t. Aaron could stand before God, but they couldn’t. And now the Hebrew writer says, now we have boldness to enter to the very presence of God. We’re not waiting for that in eternity. We have that now and will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death nor sorrow,

nor crying. There shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away. Then he who sat on the throne, said, behold, I will make all things new. And he said to me, write for these words are true and faithful. And he said to me, it is done. I am the alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

I will give the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirst. Now, this is heaven. If this is eternity, if this is after the judgment and after death is finished and after hell has all those who are waking up and cast into hell, who is Jesus offering the water of life to When The judgment is over, who then after that point has the opportunity to partake of the water of life who has not had it before.

No one Who Did Jesus offer the water of life to in John chapter four, the woman in some area and the people of some area, why did he offer it to them? Because they’d not previously Had, But he didn’t offer them water. That some day they might be able to get in heaven. He offered them the water of life, right then right there.

Okay. Notice what we read. He who overcomes shall inherit all these things. And I will be his God. And he will be my son, but the cowardly unbelieving, abominable murderer, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the Lake, which burned with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. What’s he saying about this?

Is this a, is this a forecast of their ultimate judgment? No, this looks back at the previous chapter. God’s picturing his church And he says, this is what will not be in my church. All those who are fearful that the new King James says, cowardly are the ones who didn’t resist the beast, who, when they were told you can either die or bowed or Rome,

they bowed to Rome. You can either die. Or you can say, Rome is God. And they said, Rome has God go all the way back to the very beginning in chapters two and chapter three of revelation. And you find Jesus telling the church So many instances, he says, some of you are going to, To die, but others.

So you have given up, you have become those who have been seduced by the harlot. You have been those who have been seduced by Jezza bell. You are those who have given up On faithfulness to me and revelation 21 verse eight says, and those people, they’re not part of this picture. They’re not part of my kingdom. They’re getting destroyed With Rome.

Okay? Now notice this. He says, Vincent, One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the last seven play or seven last plagues came to me and talked with me saying, come, I will show you Who’s he going to show him the bride? The church<inaudible><inaudible> chapter five is clear. The bride of Christ is the church.

And revelation uses that picture consistent Recently for the church. So he, He says, come let me show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife. Now, when he shows him the bride, the Lamb’s wife, he shows him a group of people standing around an auditorium, right? No, he doesn’t. Okay. Well, he shows them a picture of people all over the world,

worshiping God, right? No. He shows them or he shows him the new Jerusalem. We aren’t waiting for a Jerusalem city over in Israel to go worship a Messiah. One day We are the new Jerusalem. It’s okay. Been in existence since Jesus established it on the day of Pentecost in 33, Haiti, Let me show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

So beginning in verse nine, all the way through, into chapter 22, we have the picture of the church. Here’s how Christ and God through the Holy spirit, through the writer, John Picture the church. Okay. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain. Remember Daniel chapter two, God was going to have a mountain that was created without hands.

And it was going to destroy all those kingdoms and that mountain would grow and fill the earth. Was that a picture of heaven? No, that was a picture of his kingdom. Okay. He takes me to a great and high mountain and showed me the great city. Now, before the great city that we had pictured all throughout revelation Was what it was Rome,

But no more. The great city Rome has been cast into the sea and the sea is no more. Now the great city is the new Jerusalem. Okay. Showed me a great city. The new, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. This is all old Testament language. This is all stuff we saw in Isaiah. Having the glory of God.

Her light was like a most precious stone, like a Jasper stone clear as crystal. Also, she had a great and high wall with 12 Gates and 12 angels at the Gates. The names written on them were the names of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel. Turn to Matthew chapter five real quick. After the beatitudes, as Jesus is speaking to these Jews,

he’s speaking to Jews, he’s looking forward to the kingdom, but he’s speaking to Jews and he speaking to them about their law. And he’s speaking to them about their covenant with God. And he’s speaking to them about their righteousness. And too many times, we come to Matthew five, six, and seven and say, this is about the church. This is a declaration of the church Nella wasn’t.

This is a declaration of what Israel was supposed to be. This is what Israel was supposed to do. This was Israel’s law, but it certainly looks towards the church. Notice what he says. He says, verse 13, you are the salt of the earth who was supposed to be the salt of the earth. The church that didn’t exist yet, no Israel was,

God had told the descendants of Abraham that they were supposed to be the salt of the earth, but were they most of the time? No notice. He says you are the salt of the earth, but if salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then for good, for nothing. But he thrown out and trampled into the foot of man.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a Hill cannot be hid. Was Israel, a city set on a Hill before Jerusalem, the physical city was ever taken by David in his day in time. Yes, they were because they were a spiritual city set on a Hill. They weren’t waiting for Jerusalem to be established, to become the nation.

God wanted them to be because that happened hundreds of years before the city of Jerusalem was established as an Israelite city, they were to be the city of God, the city that belonged to him, the light of the world, the moment they walked out of Egypt. And God continues that picture because his people are always supposed to be a city set on a Hill,

but cannot be. So now he could take him to a high. He shows them a great city and this great city has great walls. It has great Gates. It has the names of the 12 tribes of Israel written on it. It’s it’s it’s history. It’s pictured as Israel, the Israel that was supposed to exist. The Israel that was spiritual Israel,

three Gates on the East three Gates on the North three Gates on the South three Gates on the West verse, verse 14. Now the wall of the city had 12 foundations and on them were the names of the 12 apostles of the lamb. And he who talked with me, had a gold read, the measure, the city, its Gates and its walls.

The city is laid out as a square. Its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the Reed 12,000 for our lungs. It’s length, breadth, and height are equal. Wednesday night. As we close, we talked about 12,000 furlongs it’s approximately 1500 miles. Okay? So the city is pictured as 1500 miles, long,

1500 miles wide and 1500 miles tall. And it’s on top of a mountain. Then he measured its wall 144 cubits, about 212 feet thick, depending on which measurement of the cubit you use. According to the measure of a man that is of an angel, the construction of its wall was of Jasper and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

The foundation of the wall of the city was adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was Jasper the second, the second Sapphire, the third council Doni, the fourth Emerald, the fifth. Sardonyx the sixth. Sardius the seventh. Chrysolite the eighth Beryl, the ninth Topaz, the 10th Chrissa phase, the 11th Jason and the 12th amethyst.

I did pretty good there. Didn’t I all right. The 12 Gates were 12 pearls. Each individual gate was a one Pearl and the city or the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. Now I’ve got a question for you. If it’s a real city, these are real precious stones and all of this that make up its foundation.

And I have a question because we just read that the 12 foundations were who, all right, now the 12 foundations were the 12 apostles. Now did John get made over into some stone lay a city on top of No, But does the doctrine and the teaching that was taught and brought forth the kingdom, the church throughout the world, does that become the foundation of the church?

Absolutely. It just read acts chapter two acts After too many are converted and verse 42 says, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles Doctrine foundation of the church is not some human and it is not a precious stone is the doctrine of Christ as taught by the apostles in the first century. So then we read verse 21, 12 Gates were 12 pearls. Each individual gate was a one Pearl.

The city of the, or the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. But I saw no temple In it. He says, Let me show you this city, but let me show you something. That’s very different from what You’ve seen before. Let me show you something that doesn’t look like Israel anymore. You see them Great Jerusalem of old in David’s day in the midst of Jerusalem,

really in Solomon’s day because David didn’t get to build it. But in Solomon’s day in the great city of Jerusalem at the height of its power in the midst of the city, What a temple, but not in this Jerusalem, not in this city. Why notice? But I saw no temple in it for the Lord, God almighty. And the lamb Are its temple.

The city Had no need of the sun or the moon to shine in it for the glory of God illuminated it. The lamb is It’s light. Wait a minute. I thought Matthew chapter five said you are the light of the world away. It did. So God’s people are the light of the world. Where do they get their light From the sun from God?

So he says that There’s no, there’s no sun. There’s no moon. The glory of God illuminates it. The lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in his light and the Kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor him Into it. Now I got a question for you. This is the new Jerusalem and the new Jerusalem is after the judgment day and it’s in heaven.

Then what Kings of the earth are going to bring their glory into the new? There are no Kings in the earth. There’s no word. If this is after the judgment day, these statements beginning here, make no sense. There are no Kings of the earth. There are no nations in the earth If this is in heaven. So who are These people?

But what if this is the church? What if in Paul’s day, the gospel went even into the very house of Caesar and nations and peoples and Kings were converted. And all the glory they had as Kings suddenly became part of the church. Its Gates shall not be shut at all by day where there shall be no night there and they shall bring the glory.

And the honor of the nations into it. If this is heaven, who, what nations, there are no nations. They’ve all been cast in the Lake of fire, but there shall by no means enter anything that the files or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. In contrast to old Israel,

where every time Israel started going really good and started being faithful to the Lord. Somebody came in and turned it the wrong direction. Another King or Rose who wouldn’t follow the Lord or some adviser would come along or some general would come along and he lead the people off into apostasy or false prophets would come in and they teach the people to sin. God says not in my kingdom,

not in my church, no one enters my church that defiles it. No one comes in except those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life, then notice what we read. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal proceeding from the throne of God and of the lamb in the middle of its streets. And on either side of the river was the tree of life,

which bore 12 fruits. Each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations. I’m just going to ask it one more time. What nations, if it’s heaven, what nations are outside of heaven needing to come in and eat of the tree of life? None. So where did Jesus provide access to eternal life?

Because that’s what the tree of life was all about. By the way, go back to Genesis chapter three, God kicks them out of the garden and says they can’t come back in here for if they eat of the tree, they won’t die. So the tree in the garden was eternal life, and God said, you’ve sinned. You can’t have that.

Jesus said, I came that I might give you eternal life. And John chapter 17 said, and this is eternal life That you might know the father. Jesus, didn’t say, I’ll give you eternal life in promise. So that one day when you die, you’ll Have it. No, Because he didn’t grant eternal life to flesh and blood. God granted it to a soul.

When you go down to the watery grave of baptism and you die to sin, you rise up in newness of life. And if you are faithful until death, you will never Die. There is no second death. Even if this flesh and blood dies and it will, You don’t die. There is No second death for The Christian. They don’t die again.

They died right there. Okay. So then notice what he says In the middle of its street. And on either side was the river on either side or was the tree of life, which bore 12 fruits. Each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations. Everything that this world needs. It says in it’s already in the church.

Everything, every nation needs that’s destroyed. That’s decimated. That’s going to war. That’s defeating its own people. That’s killing its own people. Everything they need is already in the church because in the churches, the gospel, And if They would be obedient to the gospel of Christ, every one of those problems would be Go away. Every one of them And there shall be no more curse,

but the throne of God and of the lamb shall be in it. And his servants shall serve him. Do we have access to the throne of God today? Yes, we do. Fijian chapter or sorry, Hebrews chapter four, verses 14 through 16. We have boldness to enter the throne and to ask for help in time of need. Okay. They shall see his face and his name shall be on their foreheads.

Jesus said to those who were faithful, the churches, he said, I’ll write my name on you. Did he say, I’ll write my name on you when you die and get into heaven? Nope. He said, if you’ll be faithful now Shall be no light. There. They need no lamp nor light from the sun for the Lord. God gives them light and they shall reign forever.

And ever then he said to me, these words are faithful and true. And the Lord, God of the Holy prophets sent his angel to show his servants the things which must This one’s really hard to get over shortly, take place, Following everything. He just said, he said, this must shortly take place. What you just saw, John must shortly take place.

But he goes on. He says, behold, I am coming quickly. Bless it. As he who keeps the words and the prophecies of this book. Now it’s going to be interesting because he’s going to lay forth a blessing for those who keep the words of the book and a curse against those who don’t. And if the curse is, as we’re going to see in a minute,

don’t apply until he turned 80. Then the curse doesn’t make any sense. If the blessing doesn’t apply till eternity, the blessing doesn’t make any sense. Watch this. Okay. Now I, John saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things, then he said to me,

see that you do not do that for, I am your fellow servant and of your brother in the profits and of those who keep the words of this book, worship God. So John sees himself fall down and worship the angel again. And the angel says, no only worship the Lord. I’m just like you I’m just like the prophets on just like the servants.

I’m just like everybody else who obeys God worship God. Okay. So then we read and he said to me, do not seal up. The words of the prophecy of this book for the time is at hand, this hearkens right back to Daniel. Remember Daniel was given the prophecy. Daniel was given the visions and Daniel was told, seal it up because the time is not yet.

John is given the prophecy. And by the way, 600 years later, the time was at hand. Now John’s given the prophecy and John’s told don’t seal it up the time. Is it a, and so are we supposed to believe that Daniel who’s time wasn’t at hand and had to wait 600 years is now that is, is now being applied to John.

And John’s being told the time is at hand, but we need to wait a little more than 2000 years to get there. No, in Daniel’s day, the time wasn’t at hand in John’s day, it was okay. So then he says then verse 11, he who is just let him be unjust. Still. Who has filled the lead. He filthy still.

He who is righteous. Let him be righteous. Still. He who is Holy, let him be Holy. Still is God here saying to John, you know what? Don’t worry about breaching that don’t don’t, don’t worry about converting people that don’t, don’t worry about it monitoring. No, no. The, the declaration here is I’m coming in judgment and whatever their state is,

when I get there, that’s what they’re going to be when I judge them. Okay. If they’re in iniquity, they’re going to still be there. If they’re in righteousness, they’re still going to be there and I’m going to judge them based upon their works. Okay? So verse 12, verse 12 through the end and behold, I am coming quickly.

And my reward is with me to give to everyone. According to his work, I am the alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last bless it is he are blessed, are those who do his commandments, that they may have rind to the tree of life and may enter the Gates in, excuse me, enter through the Gates into the city,

but outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practices a lie. I, Jesus have sent my angel to testify to you. These things in the churches, I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and the morning star and the spirit and the bride say What com And led him and let him who hears say,

come and lead him who thirst come and whoever desires, let him take of the water of life freely is Jesus saying when all this is over, when the world’s come to an end and judgment days come, then finally the bride and the spirit and the lamb are going to invite people to partake in the water of life. Nope, Jesus is telling the church and everyone who will hear you can have the water of life freely Right now.

So come, He concludes for, I testified everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in his book. What plagues plagues back in chapters, 15 and 16, the plagues that he poured out on the earth. Now somebody manipulated the prophecy of this book in the fourth,

where they going to get the plagues? Are they just going to have to wait? No, they were going to get them, but did the people in the days of Rome get the plagues in a literal form or a spiritual form, a spiritual form did the person in the fourth century who tried to manipulate the book of revelation and change its meaning, get it in spiritual form or physical form,

spiritual form. He said it. I for, I testify that he who hears the words of the prophecy of the book. If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the prophecy of this or the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life and from the Holy city and from the things which are written in this book,

he who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming quickly. The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. And that’s the book of revelation. We’ll go over some questions at another point for chapter 21 and 22. We’ll do that Wednesday before we get back into our normal studies. Thank you for your attention.<inaudible><inaudible> yeah.

Hi.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Good morning. Welcome to the Collierville Sunday morning services. It’s great to see each and every one of you out here this morning. So glad you’ve had the opportunity to come here to sing songs of praise and worship God with us this morning, for those of you that are online or on the phone, listening know that you are still in our thoughts and prayers.

We pray for each and every one of you every day and pray for an end to this COVID-19 pandemic so that we can all assemble here again one day, hopefully soon and worship God announcements for this morning. If you did not get the Lord’s supper, please take this opportunity while I’m going through the announcements to pick it up. It’s on the tables in the back.

I do not see any visitors, but if there is a visitor here that I’m not seeing, well, you are welcome here. We’re glad that you chose to worship with us this morning and please fill out a visitor’s card for us. Before I get into the sick, I want to go and I’m sure everybody sees him here, but Terry Whitley is back Terry and his wife,

Patricia are both past the COVID-19. So that’s a good thing. We need to praise the Lord and thank God for that, that they have both made it through there. Terry says, you know, Patricia didn’t really have anything at all, but he had some pretty severe symptoms. So thank God for Terry’s recovery. And it’s good to see you back,

sir, remembering our sick John Springer, Dorothy Wilson, Janet Jones, Robin woods, Jessica Dale, and then Tory Hensley. The Springer’s granddaughter is still waiting for her results from her MRI that she had done on her brain. And then Gary Wheeler. I do not have an update on Gary cause Barbara is not here this morning, but please continue to pray for each and every one of those also have a card here.

I want to read this morning. It says to my church family many thanks for the pretty fall bulky that I receive by the ladies of Diana and Sylvia. It was thoughtful and appreciated and brighten my week for sure. It was so good to see those two ladies, even though it was from a far distance, thanks to the church. Also for the many cards I’ve received over the past months,

each and everyone is so very much appreciated. I miss being there and miss all of you, please continue to pray for Tori and myself in Christian Love Joan sprayer. I’ll put this up on the board out there. The only other announcement I have is Paula is working on the 2021 church calendar. So if you know of anything that needs to be added to that,

we need to get that into her soon so she can get that calendar printed for us because 2021 is right around the corner for our services. This morning, our song leader will be Michael Dale Opening. Prayer will be Joel caisson. The Lord’s supper will be Jay Shafir and sermon will be from Aaron cold start and closing. Prayer will be Tommy Lasseter. Thank you.

Our opening song this morning will be number 860. There is a habitation number 860. I’ll let Tommy figure out the projector real quick on there. There it is.<inaudible><inaudible> who see that grand<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> for<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> in long<inaudible>. Oh,<inaudible><inaudible> no<inaudible> no, no<inaudible> no,<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> in long<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and let me see<inaudible> no praise is<inaudible>.

Oh,<inaudible> long Gates to see<inaudible><inaudible> the<inaudible> The song before our opening prayer will be number 764. Teach me Lord to wait. This one is not on the screen. So please use your book. Number 764. Teach me Lord to wait.<inaudible> right.<inaudible> you answer? Please teach me<inaudible> but to<inaudible> from you, teach me<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> what you want me to be<inaudible> upon the Lord<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> teach me.

Lord. Teach me to<inaudible> Oh dear God. Our father in heaven, we, they come before your throne thinking that you are God, our God, that created all of mankind. The one that loves us so much, his precious son died upon the cross of Calvary to redeem us from our sins father in heaven. We often take so much for granted in our lives that we often forget who we really ought to be.

Yeah. We often forget to be the right example before others. We often fail to reach out to those that are not your children, your God. We often take life itself for granted. We don’t take any precautions to make sure that we stay healthy. We pray father that you bless each and every one of us that’s here today and be filled with Thanksgiving that we were able to come here and worship you the one and true living God.

They were able to remember our savior and the sacrifice he made there on the cross that he bore our sins there and shed his precious blood. Often father, we failed to be thankful for our families or our mates for our parents, for our children, Brand Children. And great-grandchildren we so often forget to remember one another as this body of Christ in our prayers,

daily father. We’re so thankful that Terry and Patricia are over the virus. We pray that you continue to bless them and pray that they continue to be well. We pray for those that others that were mentioned that are facing different trials in their lives with their health. We pray that you be with those that are administering to them, that they might be able to regain that health.

And once again, be with us Father, we’re mindful of those that have drifted away, need some encouragement. And we pray that we might be attentive to those needs and be better to be able to say, or do something that might stir their hearts and their minds to realize where they are and that they truly do want to come back and serve and glorify you are there help us each day that we remember your words,

that we look to it, the scriptures often to tip, strengthen our lives and to help us to be able to reach others with the gospel. We pray father that we always are mindful of those that are outside the body, that we do have a love for their souls, that we do want to be there for them and help to stir their thinking that they come to know your will and want to be obedient to it.

Father, we’re so grateful for Aaron and his family. We’re so thankful for the abilities that they have to encourage this congregation. And for the blessing, it is to have a minister of the gospel that said is the word deeply and is able to teach our classes and to preach out the word here to this congregation in such a way that it’s so easy to understand your will.

And it truly stars our minds and our hearts to try to be better, to want to serve you more are for Michael Jones and his family and him going to the school of preaching. We pray that you strengthen him and bless Sam as he continues his studies there. And we’re so grateful for him and wanting to be a better master of the gospel, bless them and strengthen them.

Bless each family here, father. And we pray that we all try to work together for the good of the church, for the good of our own souls. And hopefully to reach out in this area, we pray that we be compassionate and patient and kind and loving as we go through life that others truly see Jesus living in us, bless us and our worship to stay and help us out.

Always draw closer to you and closer to one another. And we pray for that home in heaven with a and Jesus, we pray amen Song to prepare our minds for the Lord’s supper will be number three, 353, one day number 353 One day. When<inaudible> one day when<inaudible> was as black as could be. He, Jesus came for to be born of a judge,

dwell among man, my example and see<inaudible> me jogging. He saved me buried. He<inaudible> my sins.<inaudible> Hey<inaudible> Hey<inaudible><inaudible> Oh, one day he’s<inaudible> Oh, glory us. Yay. One day they let him<inaudible> Oh, one day<inaudible> to die on the tree. So off a<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> me dying. He said, Hey,

saved me buried. He<inaudible> my son<inaudible><inaudible> ah.<inaudible> one day he is<inaudible>. Oh, glory. Yay. One day<inaudible> on and God, or one day he from<inaudible> free. Angela’s came down. No<inaudible><inaudible> my savior. See<inaudible> me dying. He say, Hey me.<inaudible> my son.<inaudible><inaudible> one day. He is<inaudible>.

Oh, glory. Yay. One day gray can sell him no long. One day<inaudible> rolled way from<inaudible> and then he<inaudible> now is<inaudible> my Lord.<inaudible> me.<inaudible> me.<inaudible> Hey,<inaudible><inaudible> one day he’s<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> me.<inaudible> me.<inaudible> my son<inaudible> Hey<inaudible><inaudible> Oh, one day he’s<inaudible>.

Oh, glory. Dang. As we prepare to participate in this Lord, suffer less free or minds of all our worldly thoughts and focus upon the sacrifice that Jesus made for each of us go to our father in prayer and only father. We were so very grateful for this privilege. We have to assemble about this table. And as we partake of this and emblem of the bread,

which represents your son’s body, that was sacrificed on the cross, help us to realize how significant that really is to each and every one of us that we have that hope of eternal life with you. One day in Jesus name, we pray, amen.<inaudible> Again, father, as we continue this Memorial and partake of this fruit of the vine, which represents the blood that was sacrificed for permission of our Sams,

help us to protect this and aware of their manner that it was acceptable in their sight. It’s in your son’s name that we pray, amen.<inaudible> This concludes the Lord’s supper. And we find this a convenient time to offer prayer for our offering. We’re commanded on first day of each week to lay by and store as we’ve been prospered. So let’s once again,

go to the father in prayer<inaudible> And my father is we again, come before that throne. We’re so very grateful for the many material blessings that you have. So richly Mr. Bowden on our lives help us always to remember that these blessings come from you and that we are merely stewards of the while we’re here on this earth, help us to give freely.

And may these funds be used to further your word here and also to promote your word worldwide. It’s in his name that we pray. Amen Song before the lesson will be number 346. He lives. And if you’re able, let’s stand for this song please. Number 346 is the invitation song on the slides. Okay? Invitation song will be on the slide.

He lives. I serve a risen savior. He’s in the world today. I know that he is living whatever man may say, Hey, I see his hand up. I hear his moist Searchie and a slow time. I need him. He is always<inaudible> Christ Jesus<inaudible>. He walks with me and talks with me.<inaudible> salvation to him.<inaudible> you asked me<inaudible><inaudible> my<inaudible> and all the world around me.

I see his loving, eh, no, my heart grows<inaudible> I never, well, I know that he is leading through all the stormy, blah, blah. Here’s up here? Me. Well,<inaudible> he<inaudible> Christ Jesus<inaudible>. He walks with me and walks with me along life’s narrow way. Hey, he<inaudible> you asked me<inaudible> he<inaudible> my<inaudible> rejoice.

We joined. So Chris, John, lift up your voice and sing<inaudible> to Jesus Christ King. The hope of all Hersey cam<inaudible> no, no. So loving, so good. And ah, he<inaudible> Christ Jesus<inaudible>. He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. Hey<inaudible> you asked me<inaudible><inaudible> my<inaudible> may be seated.

Good morning. Most, if not, all of you know, because you’ve been in the class at some point, we’ve been going through the book of revelation in our classes, on the adult classes on Sunday and on Wednesday. And we’d gone through a number of passages that in the book of revelation, reference things that sound like the judgment day. And we’ve looked at those in their context.

And we’ve said a number of times my sound like the judgment day, but it’s not. And to avoid the possibility that somebody might come along at some point and say, well, I’m not sure Aaron believes in the judgment day. I thought what we would do this morning is spend a little time talking about the last day because the new Testament is very clear about that day.

The new Testament teaches us very clearly about when this life will come to an end when this life and when this world and all that is in, it will be no more. So this morning, I want to begin noticing in noticing second, Peter chapter three, Peter writes to the church, second, Peter chapter three beginning in one. And we’re just going To primarily notice Three passages.

There are many more, Or that could be discussed. There are many more that could be talked about, and there are many more that include more detail. But for the sake of our time, We’re going to notice three Second, Peter chapter three. And in verse one, beloved, I now write to you this second epistle in both of which I stir up your pure minds,

by way of reminder, Peter makes it clear as Peter teaches those Christians in the first century that he is writing to them to remind them of what they all ready Know. He’s Not writing to them, new things. They’ve never heard before. He’s not writing to them a different thing than what they preached when they were in their presence. He’s writing to them things to remind them,

to stir Them up and To get their hearts and minds Ready for what is to come. Then You may be mindful verse two of the words, which were spoken before by the Holy prophets and of the commandments of us, the apostles of the Lord and savior notice. First and foremost, he says to those Christians, he says, you were told this by the prophets of old.

This is not something that just started with Jesus and started with the apostles. This is the fulfillment of what you have been told for generations going back into the old Testament. So the old Testament prophets spoke of it and the apostles spoke Of it. Then he says this, knowing this first, That scoffers will come in the last days, walking, according to their own lunch and saying,

where is the promise of his coming for? Since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning. Creation. Peter makes it clear. As he writes to these Christians, as he Brings forward the profits and brings forward the teaching of the other apostles together to these brethren, he makes it clear to them that there would be people who would rise up from among themselves,

from among the Christians And say, he ain’t coming back here. Clearly isn’t coming back because he hasn’t come Back yet. And they’ll use as their justification for their position, that everything is continued to exist. The way that it was from the day of creation until now Nothing Ever changes. Generations come and generations go. Therefore, because generations come and generations go,

generations will come and go. Never. And Peter says they have a problem with their reasoning. They have a problem with their line of argumentation because it hasn’t always been That way. And notice what he says. He says for this, they willfully forget that by the word of God, the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of water and in the water,

by which the world that then existed perished being flooded With water Peterson. It says these people who claim that the world is just continued on without fail generation after generation, that nothing ever changes, Army Missing one glaringly obvious example of things, changing a great deal Because God, in the days of Noah Brought judgment on a wicked world and by grace saved eight souls out of an entire plant.

Peter says, if he did that, what makes You think he won’t do what He’s promised already notice what he said. He says, he says by which the world that then existed perish verse six, being flooded with water, but the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by the same word, the same word. What the same word that brought the flood.

The same word that brought 40 days and 40 nights of rain. The same word that broke up the ground and brought water from beneath the earth. The same word that brought the flood above the tops of the very mouth. The same word that brought, that has caused the world to come, Continue to exist. What the hell, Humans in the earth,

which are now preserved by the same word are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But beloved do not forget this. One thing that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years in is a thousand years as one day, the Lord is not Slack concerning his promises. Some men count slackness, but as long suffering toward us,

not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The same word that brought the flood. The same word that preserved the earth from that point until now is the same word that reserved this world for fire Around four o’clock in the afternoon, look over at your spouse and say, what do you want for dinner? Your spouse says,

I don’t care. What do you want? I tell you what, let’s make a reservation at this fine restaurant. It’s not COVID world. It’s some imaginary world where you can actually go to a restaurant and you call up the phone. You say, I need a reservation for two. I want to sit over in the corner. I want this to eat.

This is what I want. This is my reservation. God said this world that I created this, This world and everything in this physical universe that I created, I have reserved Its end. I have gone ahead and told you exactly how it’s going, Going to go. And because I created it, I have the power to do it. And these Christians who were coming forth,

these scoffers as Peter calls them, We’re saying, it’s not going to happen. He hasn’t come back yet. And since he hasn’t come back yet, therefore he must not ever plan on coming Back. Peter says, you misunderstand our God. Yes, You misunderstand who he is and you misunderstand his power and his knowledge. If you say tomorrow, I’m going to get up in the morning and go to work.

You have a good plan that you’re going to do that. But with the Lord, he can say a thousand years from now, I’m going To do this. And he can do it with the same ease at which you can say tomorrow, I’m going to do this. He is not Slack concerning his promises. Unlike humanity, you get up first thing in the morning and you say four o’clock,

I’m going to exercise Around three 55. You look instead at the refrigerator refrigerator and say, I think I’ll exchange Exercise for a snack. The Lord is not Slack concerning his promises. As some men count slackness but is Long suffering. So We question, wait a minute. If God is going to return, surely things have gotten as bad as they’re ever going to get Shirley.

It is time what’s he waiting on. And Peter says every single day, the Lord waits. We are to understand that to be his long suffering. We are to understand that that is because he desires that everyone Should come to repentance Verse 10, but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. That phrase was used by Jesus repeatedly.

To describe a time when people were not ready, the thief doesn’t call in advance and say, I’m going to be there at 7:00 PM. Make sure you have the dogs out and make sure you got the gun loaded and make sure the doors are locked. He comes when you’re not ready. God will come Not on a day prophesied by some religious fanatic who thinks he knows how to interpret signs and symbols,

but on a day of his choosing, where there will be no signs of his coming according to Jesus, but as a day or as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise. And the elements will melt with fervent heat, both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up Jesus Or excuse me,

Peter, as he is writing to these Christians says there was a day when God wiped the planet, clean with water. But When this judgment comes, when the day comes, where he returns, when he is revealed on that final day, it’s not going to be wiping the planet clean. It’s going to be burning it up. It is reserved For fire.

And he says the works And the substance of this earth will be no more. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons are you to be in Holy conduct and godliness looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on fire. And the elements will melt with fervent heat.

Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a newer in which righteousness dwells. Peter brings forward old Testament language of a new heavens and a new earth, a new dwelling place for the people of God, God, We’ve made it clear in our studies in the adult class. That every time we see new heavens and new earth,

it’s not supposed to be an interpretation of exactly what’s going to happen. It’s supposed to be a picture, an old Testament picture of God, preparing a place for his people. Jesus made this statement. Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go, then I will come and bring you to where I am. Jesus.

This did not promise the apostles a home on this earth. Jesus did not promise his apostles, a dwelling place on this earth where he would return to them. And well with them, Jesus promised his apostles at dwelling place in heaven, where he would return and bring them to Him self. But yet notice this phrase in verse 12, Peter says, We don’t know when the day will be.

We don’t know when Jesus will return, but he does say what we are to be doing. In the meantime We are to be looking for And hastening The coming of the day of God. What does he mean? What does Peter mean? Buying the idea that we’re to be looking for and hastening the, The day of God? Well, first of all,

Well, we read in the previous verse that because all these things will be dissolved because there’s coming a day when this earth will be no more. When this universe will be no more. When the works of this earth will be no more. We ought to live in Holy conduct and godliness. If we live our lives here in view of our lives, there,

we will live our lives, Then holiness in this life. But he also makes it clear that we don’t just live our lives in holiness saying like, well, someday I’m going to die. We live our lives every day as if today Might be our last. We look for that day. Not just the day when our lives are over because we die of old age or we die of some disease.

We don’t look for that day. We look for the return Of Christ and we do so with anticipation. Sometimes we struggle with that idea. Sometimes we go, but I want to see my kids grow up, but I want to see my grandkids, But I want to see fill In the blank and that’s not wrong nor unnatural, but in our better moments,

when We put our mind in view of the word of God, we go. But Oh, what a day? That will be When my children, who I want to see, grow up, never Have to experience pain again. When those who have gone before, who I’ve attended Their funerals and I’ve laid them in the ground, I get to see again,

you win. We struggle with the here and now and the, what we can see and the, what we can hope for, but God Dozens. And yet he calls upon us while we are still here to not focus on tomorrow. But the soul Is lost today. Therefore we are supposed to be looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.

When you hasten the coming of the day of God, you preach the gospel. When you hasten the coming of the day of God, you prepare the world for what God wants. And that is that no one Should fail to come to repentance. We are to be those who are looking for the coming of the day of God. We are also be those who are preparing this world for that day,

but one other passage, or the second passage that I want us to notice is just a few pages over in your new testaments. In first John chapter four first John chapter four, John has spent the bulk of this chapter discussing the attribute of love That belongs to God. Okay? Not just that God does that, which is love, but God is love.

And in verse 17, we read the love has been perfected among us in this that we may have boldness In the day of judgment because as He is, so are We in this world? One Of the greatest things that God Has given us is love when we didn’t deserve it is love when we couldn’t ask for it. His Love when we had no rights To it,

because the attribute of love is the center. Most attribute of God. And he loved us when we were unworthy. And so we, as Christians, as we develop ourselves and understand who he is, as we grow in our knowledge of him, as we come closer to every day, we are to become Love. We are to have love perfected in us.

But notice this. He says, when love is perfected in you, you can stand in the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world therefore, or excuse me, there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made. Perfect in love. We love him because he first loved.

God said, you’re lost. You’re in your sins and you’re going to die. And if you die in that state, my justice has no choice. My justice must punish you if you die in that state, But I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you don’t Die in that state. So John Jay Chapter three verse 16 said for God,

so loved the world that he gave. His only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting. He loved us first and yet the last day is coming. One more passage, Romans chapter two, Peter tells us that there are those who will doubt. Peter tells us there were those. There are those who will deny. Peter tells us that it’s coming.

And it’s a shirt and is promised by God. Peter tells us that when it comes, everything that is in this physical world will be destroyed, But for God’s people, a new home awaits. But as Paul Writes to the church at Rome and deals with the problem of the Jews and the Gentiles and their, their divisiveness towards one another and God’s plan for both of them,

Paul writes to these Christians and he writes to them about that Day, Beginning in verse one, he read, we read, therefore you are inexcusable. He is addressing the Jews at the moment. He says, therefore, you are inexcusable old, man, whoever you are on who judge for in whatever you judge another, you condemn yourself for you, who judge practice the same things.

He addresses the Jews who look at the world around them and all the Gentiles. And they accuse them and they judge them and they judge them unworthy of God. And yet he addresses these Jews and says, you who judge someone else and then commit the same thing that you judge them for. Judge yourself, You condemn Yourself. But he says, but we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.

Paul is not leaving the implication that God’s not going to judge the wicked. Paul is saying, if you’re judging someone who’s wicked and then committing the same wickedness, you’re judging, God’s going to judge you too. His righteousness or excuse me, His judgment is according to truth. But then he says, verse three. And do you think this old man,

you who judge those practicing such things and doing the same, that you will escape. Yeah. Judgment of God. Paul makes it clear hypocrisy. And those who practice, it will be judged by God. But he goes on verse four. Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance and long suffering, non knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance.

This is D do you look at everything God’s given you everything God’s blessed you with as a nation Israel. And you see God’s goodness in his forbearance and his love and his long suffering. And you look at it and you don’t learn from It. You Don’t use that. Goodness, that long suffering that forbearance as an impetus for repentance To admonish you to do What is right.

But he says, verse five in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart, you are treasuring up for yourself, wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Paul, as he writes to these Jews, as he writes to these Jews, he writes to them and says, if you’re going to judge someone for their sin,

fine, but not. If you’re going to commit the same sin, then you’ve judged yourself. And if you think you can live as a hypocrite, judging someone else in committing the same thing you need to know, all you’re doing is storing up banking away, investing for the future, but you’re not investing good things. You’re not investing righteousness. You’re not investing in blessings reward.

Your investing RAF. You are storing up wrath for the day of wrath. Now wait a minute. I thought the judgment day was going to be a great day. I thought the last day was going to be a day of blessing and rejoicing. I thought the day of judgment was going to be a day when those who are righteous, come in and are welcomed by God.

It is. And yet Jesus said there was coming a day. When those who would stand before God would be separated. He said there would be a day when there would be those who had done works in his name and prophesied in his name and then done many wonderful works in his name, who he would say depart from me. You workers of iniquity.

I never knew Paul is telling these Christians, if you agree, Nor the blessings of God and the forbearance of God and the long suffering of God, and you don’t learn that you can’t live the way your ancestors did, but instead that you must repent, you will receive the same judgment, the same condemnation and the same RAF. They receive verse six.

He describes the judgment of God. He will render to each one, according to his deeds, eternal life, to those who by patient continuance in doing good, seek for glory honor. And immortality Paul says for those who don’t live like this, who don’t live in hypocrisy, Who don’t judge others and then do what they have judged. But instead those who live every day,

looking for glory, looking for honor looking for immortality, not someone wandering around in this world looking to glorify themselves, not someone wandering around in this world looking to honor themselves, not someone looking for immortality for themselves, But who are looking for the attributes of God to instill in themselves. He says, but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth,

but obey unrighteousness, indignation, and wrath, tribulation, and anguish on every soul of man who does evil of the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor, and peace to everyone who works. What is to the Jew first and also to the Greek. You remember back over in Romans chapter one, Paul makes it clear that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Paul says the Jew is going to receive the gospel. First is going to have the opportunity of salvation first but less. You think God is partial. They’re also going to be judged first. They’re also going to have wrath first or blessing first, depending upon whether or not they obey the gospel that was preached to them. And then the Greek verse 11 for there is no partiality with God,

for as many as have sinned without the law will also perish without the law. And as many of sin in the law will be judged by the law for not the hearers of the law are, are just in the sight of God. But the doers of the law will be justified for when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature, do the things in the law.

These, although ha not having the law are a law to themselves who show the work of the law, written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness and between themselves, their thoughts accusing or else excusing them in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. According to my gospel, Paul makes it clear. The Jews had the law of Moses,

the Gentiles didn’t. But when God finds a Gentile who obeyed the truth in the law though, he was never one who received the law. He will judge him according to his works and the Jew who received the law of Moses. And didn’t keep it. He will judge him according to his Works, but Jew and Gentile alike have now received the gospel To the Jew and the Gentile in that day.

And today Paul says he will judge them according to the guy. So where does that leave us? It leaves us in John chapter 12, Actually in John chapter 12, Jesus would say to these Jews, He who believes in me verse 44, believes not in me, but in him who sent me. And he who sees me, sees him, who sent me.

I have come as a light into the world. And whoever believes in me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and not believe I do not judge him Four, I did not come to judge the world, but Save the world. He who rejects me And does not receive my words has that Judges, him, the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

It leaves us here with a promise that is assured with a day that we are to be looking and hastening, but a day in which we know we will Judged not by an arbitrary ruler, not by wills or fickle decisions, But by the word that Jesus spoke, because he says, my word will judge you in the last day. Well, how will we be judged?

We will be judged according to Two hour works. How then are we to live in all in all Holy conduct and conversation looking for and hastening the day of the Lord. If you’re outside the body of Christ, you are outside of the gospel. That brings salvation. Yes. If you are outside of the gospel, that brings salvation. You are outside Of the hope of eternity.

If you are outside of the hope of eternity, you reside in the wrath God, and there’s coming a day where you will stand before him in judgment. And all you will have as you stand before him in judgment is your evil Needs to testify concerning your works. You say, well, wait a minute, but I’ve done good things too. Yes,

but unfortunately good deeds do not merit salvation. Only a perfect sacrifice can obtain salvation. And one who is sinned cannot be a perfect sacrifice, but that’s okay because that’s why God first loved us and sent his son to die on the cross for your sins and for mine. So if you’re outside the body of Christ outside the gospel and outside of hope, you can change that by coming into contact with the blood of the sacrifice of Christ.

But how do you do? You don’t do it by just faith. You don’t do it by prayer. You do it by hearing the word of God and obeying it. You do it by hearing the gospel and then doing what it says. What does it say to do? Jesus said that except you believe that I am, he you’ll die in your sins.

And that’s true. But Jesus also said, except you repent. You will die in your sins. And that’s also true. But he also said, you have to believe in me. And that involves a confession and a recognition of who he is, that he is the Christ, the son of living. God, not just that. He was some somewhere.

Not that he was just some prophet, not that he was Elijah or one or Isaiah or one of the profits, but he was Jesus Christ. The son of God. Well then having done that, you have to come into contact with his blood. You have to die to sin and you do that in a watery grave of baptism because Jesus said he,

that believes and is baptized shall be saved. You have need of that this morning. You can do that. You’re outside the body of Christ. You have hope you’re a member of the body of Christ. That’s not been living like tomorrow may be your last day. You also have hope, but it involves change. You have need of the invitation. Why not come now?

As we stand in, as we sing<inaudible> but blah<inaudible> and<inaudible> me.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> to the<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> just<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> like, like<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> like, like Song before the closing prayer will be number 852. When the roll is called up yonder heed five,

two. When the Trump and other launch on sound and time shall be no more and no morning breaks. You turn up bright and fast. When they’re saved, gather over on the, the shore. And our role is called up yonder. I’ll be there. Hey, when he was called up and when he was called up,<inaudible> when the role is called up beyond<inaudible> on that ride in cleanliness morning when the dead in Christ shall rise and the glory of his resurrection<inaudible> when his chosen one shall gather to their home.

The guys and their role is called the beyond. Be<inaudible> is called up.<inaudible> when a roll is called up beyond a I’ll be the Hey neighbor for the master, from the Dawn to setting side, there’s talk of here’s one dress and Kay, Hey<inaudible> is over. And a work on earth is done and the roll is called up yonder<inaudible> is called up<inaudible> and it’s called up.

And when a roll is called up beyond a hobby, What’d you buy with me the God and father in heaven. We’re indeed thankful for another beautiful day of life. That you’ve blessed us with father. We’re thankful for this hour that we were able to worship the same prices under the and father. We pray that our worship today has been acceptable and pleasing in that site,

by the word mindful at this time, if those who have been mentioned sick, we pray father, if it bait, I will, that you are turning them back to a good state of health and their most wanted health. They can be back with us, by the way. We’re also mindful that we have members here. They may be traveling and we pray father that you will be with them and comfort them as they travel.

And that they may have a safe destination. Father were thankful for your son, Jesus, and that great sacrifice on that cross. And we just pray father that as we leave this building and go back to our workplace and being out in the public and those around us, we can be that shining light and that good example of bring lost souls today, father,

we pray that you’ll be with this country, with the issues that are going on and father, we know that it’s possibly a shame, no doubt. It’s a shame at times, father, and we pray that you will be with the leaders of this country, father, that we can turn this country back around and bring praise and glory today. But I would pray that you’ll be with us and keep us safe.

Forgive us of our sins in Jesus name. Amen.

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11-25-2020 Revelation 21 (Class)

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams, Revelation by Aaron Cozort

JOHN – Revelation 21
Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen.

  1. What did John see?
    What had passed away?
    What was no more? Revelation 21:1 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  2. By what other designation is the New Jerusalem known in Revelation?  
    What is the New Jerusalem?
    Revelation 21:2, 9 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  3. Inside what location does God dwell with humanity? Revelation 21:3 (John 14-17; 2 Corinthians 6:15-17; Hebrews 10:19-21; 1 John 4:13) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  4. Has God ever promised before this passage to remove all sorrow from His people and wipe away all tears? Revelation 21:4-5
    Is this imagery of Heaven contextually?  Isaiah 25:7-8; 35:10; 51:11; 65:19
    ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  5. While on this earth, to whom did Jesus offer the waters of life, those in Heaven or those on Earth?  Revelation 21:7 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  1. If literal, how tall would the New Jerusalem be in miles? Is it literal?
    Revelation 21:16  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  2. What is missing from the New Jerusalem/Bride? Revelation 21:22-23 ________________________________________________________________
  3. What nations will exist after the judgment day?  Revelation 21:26 ________________________________________________________________
  4. What cannot enter the New Jerusalem?  Revelation 21:27 ________________________________________________________________

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Well, my watch says it’s time to start. So we’re going to go ahead and get started. Okay. We’re in revelation 21 and 22.<inaudible> Good to see you, sir. Let’s begin with a word of prayer gracious and bountiful father in heaven. We come before you at this time, grateful for the day that you’ve given to us,

the life that we have and the opportunities that we have to serve you. We pray that as we go throughout this period of study this morning, we might glean the things from these passages that you would have us to learn. We might grow closer to you and understand, and be comforted by your word, and also admonished to live in a way that will prepare us for eternity.

We pray and are mindful of those who are struggling in this time because of illness, difficulty, injury, or struggles in their lives, or those who have lost loved ones. In recent days, we are mindful of each and every one of them. We’re mindful of our nation. And we’re mindful of the world. All of its many struggles and all of its many difficulties,

pray for those who are in difficult places, difficult times, especially those who are striving to preach the gospel in those locations and teach others the word that they might have the hope of eternity, pray that you be with us. As we go throughout this period of study and worship this morning may all that we do be in accordance with your will. All this.

We pray in Jesus name. Amen. So between Sunday and Wednesday, Last week, we noticed a number of passages in Isaiah, especially there are more in the sheets that you were given. There’s some in Zechariah, there’s some in Jeremiah, there’s some in Hosea that I don’t think actually made it on the list, but there’s passages all throughout the old Testament that give us the language of revelation 21 and 22.

They speak consistently concerning God’s people. And they speak of God’s people in one United context. And that context is victory over the enemies of God and God having judged his enemies. When God judges his enemies, God’s people get pictured in these sorts of ways because when God judges his enemies go all the way back to the end of revelation, chapter six, when God judges his enemies and the picture of revelation six is the rich and the mighty and the rulers.

And all the Kings are, are crying on the mountains, fall on us to protect us from the wrath of the lamb and the one who sits on the throne. And the question is asked in the day of the wrath of the lamb and in the day of the wrath of the one who sits on the throne, who can stand and the answer of the old Testament and the answer of revelation is God people can stand.

So when God’s people can stay in, in the day of God’s wrath in the day of his judgment on any of his enemies, the outcome is before God’s people were being persecuted. God’s people were going through the ringer. God’s people were suffering. Now they’re glorified. Now they’re exalted. Now they’re protected. And they’re raised up in a picture of the glorified people of God.

And that is revelation 21 and 22 can these passages and these things be applied to the church in eternity. In other words, could we use these pictures and say, wow, that must be what the church will look like in its glorified state in eternity with God. Absolutely. The church perfected with sin no more with suffering, no more with, with death,

no more any eternity with God, absolutely. That you could use this as a picture of that. The question is the question is always been, is that the context that John is writing about and the answer? No. The context that John is writing about is the church that comes through the persecution, the church that comes under attack by the beast under attack,

by Rome, under attack, by Satan and comes through the other side and revelation 21 and 22 are old Testament. Language of God’s people glorified when God judges, their enemies turned into language, talking about God’s church glorified. When God finishes what he had begun to prophesize and begun to tell them that they would induce her and go through all the way back in Daniel’s day.

God told Daniel when he gave a dream to Nebuchadnezzar that there were going to be four nations beginning with Babylon, continuing in the Mito Persian empire, continuing in Greece, continuing in Rome. And in the days of these Kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom, which will never be destroyed. And it will break us under. And why bullae all these other kingdoms and revelation is the new Testament counterpart where God says,

and I did.<inaudible> Makes it clear. Rome will be no more. And those who persecute my people every single time they come up will be no more because I will always defend my people. So revelation 21 and 22, we’re going to go through it fairly rapidly, but I want us to get the picture. I don’t want to spend a lot of time on the details.

I want you to see the picture. And as you think about the picture, think about this. The new Testament makes it clear. Jesus Christ came to this earth to set up a kingdom, not a kingdom of this earth because Jesus told pilot. If my kingdom was of this world, then my servants would fight. And yet his kingdom exists on this earth,

but not only on this earth, as you went through revelation, as we went through this, we always pointed out those who dwell on the earth was always a picture of who the wicked, those who dwell in heaven was always a picture of who the redeemed righteous people. Now in chapter 21, John’s going to see the city to send out of heaven.

So wait a minute. This must mean that this is when Christ comes and returns and rains on the earth, and God makes a new heaven and a new earth. And all the righteous people are going to live on this earth. Again. No, this is a picture of all the righteous people who John said in the day of Rome, never dwelled on the earth because the earth belonged to the wicked.

But now God has wiped out the world of the wicked. God is white roam out, and now he’s going to bring forth his people out of heaven, back to their rightful place. He’s going to give them a new heavens and a new earth. God didn’t wipe the face of the planet, clean in the days of Rome and remake it and turn it back into the garden of Eden and then build a great Jerusalem on top of a mountain.

And that city go 200 or 1500 miles high. He didn’t do that. It’s a picture of God’s people and the churches untouchable nature, because Jesus said this, remember this, actually let’s read it. Instead of just remembering Matthew chapter 16, verse 15, he said to them, who do you say that I am Simon, Peter or Simon, Peter answered and said,

you are the Christ, the son of the living, God, Jesus answered and said to him, bless it. Are you Simon? Barjona for flesh. And blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church. And the Gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. The entire book of revelation is Jesus Christ showing in the days of Rome, that what he said was true about his church and about his kingdom was true. That the Gates of Hades would not prevail against it.

The power of Satan would never win, not against his church. So revelation 21 verse one. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth. We saw that back in Isaiah. We’ve seen it elsewhere for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no more seat. Then I, John saw the Holy city, the new Jerusalem.

We saw that in Isaiah coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God turn over the book of Hebrews. And the Hebrew writer takes that language from Jeremiah chapter 31.

And he applies it to the church, not to heaven. He applies it to the church. He says, it’s here. And now he’s making the contrast of the days of the tabernacle, where God said, I’ll dwell with you and your midst. But those people couldn’t enter the tabernacle. They, the high priest could go into the tabernacle, but they couldn’t.

Moses could stand before God, but they couldn’t. Aaron could stand before God, but they couldn’t. And now the Hebrew writer says, now we have boldness to enter to the very presence of God. We’re not waiting for that in eternity. We have that now and will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death nor sorrow,

nor crying. There shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away. Then he who sat on the throne, said, behold, I will make all things new. And he said to me, write for these words are true and faithful. And he said to me, it is done. I am the alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

I will give the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirst. Now, this is heaven. If this is eternity, if this is after the judgment and after death is finished and after hell has all those who are waking up and cast into hell, who is Jesus offering the water of life to When The judgment is over, who then after that point has the opportunity to partake of the water of life who has not had it before.

No one Who Did Jesus offer the water of life to in John chapter four, the woman in some area and the people of some area, why did he offer it to them? Because they’d not previously Had, But he didn’t offer them water. That some day they might be able to get in heaven. He offered them the water of life, right then right there.

Okay. Notice what we read. He who overcomes shall inherit all these things. And I will be his God. And he will be my son, but the cowardly unbelieving, abominable murderer, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the Lake, which burned with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. What’s he saying about this?

Is this a, is this a forecast of their ultimate judgment? No, this looks back at the previous chapter. God’s picturing his church And he says, this is what will not be in my church. All those who are fearful that the new King James says, cowardly are the ones who didn’t resist the beast, who, when they were told you can either die or bowed or Rome,

they bowed to Rome. You can either die. Or you can say, Rome is God. And they said, Rome has God go all the way back to the very beginning in chapters two and chapter three of revelation. And you find Jesus telling the church So many instances, he says, some of you are going to, To die, but others.

So you have given up, you have become those who have been seduced by the harlot. You have been those who have been seduced by Jezza bell. You are those who have given up On faithfulness to me and revelation 21 verse eight says, and those people, they’re not part of this picture. They’re not part of my kingdom. They’re getting destroyed With Rome.

Okay? Now notice this. He says, Vincent, One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the last seven play or seven last plagues came to me and talked with me saying, come, I will show you Who’s he going to show him the bride? The church<inaudible><inaudible> chapter five is clear. The bride of Christ is the church.

And revelation uses that picture consistent Recently for the church. So he, He says, come let me show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife. Now, when he shows him the bride, the Lamb’s wife, he shows him a group of people standing around an auditorium, right? No, he doesn’t. Okay. Well, he shows them a picture of people all over the world,

worshiping God, right? No. He shows them or he shows him the new Jerusalem. We aren’t waiting for a Jerusalem city over in Israel to go worship a Messiah. One day We are the new Jerusalem. It’s okay. Been in existence since Jesus established it on the day of Pentecost in 33, Haiti, Let me show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

So beginning in verse nine, all the way through, into chapter 22, we have the picture of the church. Here’s how Christ and God through the Holy spirit, through the writer, John Picture the church. Okay. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain. Remember Daniel chapter two, God was going to have a mountain that was created without hands.

And it was going to destroy all those kingdoms and that mountain would grow and fill the earth. Was that a picture of heaven? No, that was a picture of his kingdom. Okay. He takes me to a great and high mountain and showed me the great city. Now, before the great city that we had pictured all throughout revelation Was what it was Rome,

But no more. The great city Rome has been cast into the sea and the sea is no more. Now the great city is the new Jerusalem. Okay. Showed me a great city. The new, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. This is all old Testament language. This is all stuff we saw in Isaiah. Having the glory of God.

Her light was like a most precious stone, like a Jasper stone clear as crystal. Also, she had a great and high wall with 12 Gates and 12 angels at the Gates. The names written on them were the names of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel. Turn to Matthew chapter five real quick. After the beatitudes, as Jesus is speaking to these Jews,

he’s speaking to Jews, he’s looking forward to the kingdom, but he’s speaking to Jews and he speaking to them about their law. And he’s speaking to them about their covenant with God. And he’s speaking to them about their righteousness. And too many times, we come to Matthew five, six, and seven and say, this is about the church. This is a declaration of the church Nella wasn’t.

This is a declaration of what Israel was supposed to be. This is what Israel was supposed to do. This was Israel’s law, but it certainly looks towards the church. Notice what he says. He says, verse 13, you are the salt of the earth who was supposed to be the salt of the earth. The church that didn’t exist yet, no Israel was,

God had told the descendants of Abraham that they were supposed to be the salt of the earth, but were they most of the time? No notice. He says you are the salt of the earth, but if salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then for good, for nothing. But he thrown out and trampled into the foot of man.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a Hill cannot be hid. Was Israel, a city set on a Hill before Jerusalem, the physical city was ever taken by David in his day in time. Yes, they were because they were a spiritual city set on a Hill. They weren’t waiting for Jerusalem to be established, to become the nation.

God wanted them to be because that happened hundreds of years before the city of Jerusalem was established as an Israelite city, they were to be the city of God, the city that belonged to him, the light of the world, the moment they walked out of Egypt. And God continues that picture because his people are always supposed to be a city set on a Hill,

but cannot be. So now he could take him to a high. He shows them a great city and this great city has great walls. It has great Gates. It has the names of the 12 tribes of Israel written on it. It’s it’s it’s history. It’s pictured as Israel, the Israel that was supposed to exist. The Israel that was spiritual Israel,

three Gates on the East three Gates on the North three Gates on the South three Gates on the West verse, verse 14. Now the wall of the city had 12 foundations and on them were the names of the 12 apostles of the lamb. And he who talked with me, had a gold read, the measure, the city, its Gates and its walls.

The city is laid out as a square. Its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the Reed 12,000 for our lungs. It’s length, breadth, and height are equal. Wednesday night. As we close, we talked about 12,000 furlongs it’s approximately 1500 miles. Okay? So the city is pictured as 1500 miles, long,

1500 miles wide and 1500 miles tall. And it’s on top of a mountain. Then he measured its wall 144 cubits, about 212 feet thick, depending on which measurement of the cubit you use. According to the measure of a man that is of an angel, the construction of its wall was of Jasper and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

The foundation of the wall of the city was adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was Jasper the second, the second Sapphire, the third council Doni, the fourth Emerald, the fifth. Sardonyx the sixth. Sardius the seventh. Chrysolite the eighth Beryl, the ninth Topaz, the 10th Chrissa phase, the 11th Jason and the 12th amethyst.

I did pretty good there. Didn’t I all right. The 12 Gates were 12 pearls. Each individual gate was a one Pearl and the city or the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. Now I’ve got a question for you. If it’s a real city, these are real precious stones and all of this that make up its foundation.

And I have a question because we just read that the 12 foundations were who, all right, now the 12 foundations were the 12 apostles. Now did John get made over into some stone lay a city on top of No, But does the doctrine and the teaching that was taught and brought forth the kingdom, the church throughout the world, does that become the foundation of the church?

Absolutely. It just read acts chapter two acts After too many are converted and verse 42 says, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles Doctrine foundation of the church is not some human and it is not a precious stone is the doctrine of Christ as taught by the apostles in the first century. So then we read verse 21, 12 Gates were 12 pearls. Each individual gate was a one Pearl.

The city of the, or the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. But I saw no temple In it. He says, Let me show you this city, but let me show you something. That’s very different from what You’ve seen before. Let me show you something that doesn’t look like Israel anymore. You see them Great Jerusalem of old in David’s day in the midst of Jerusalem,

really in Solomon’s day because David didn’t get to build it. But in Solomon’s day in the great city of Jerusalem at the height of its power in the midst of the city, What a temple, but not in this Jerusalem, not in this city. Why notice? But I saw no temple in it for the Lord, God almighty. And the lamb Are its temple.

The city Had no need of the sun or the moon to shine in it for the glory of God illuminated it. The lamb is It’s light. Wait a minute. I thought Matthew chapter five said you are the light of the world away. It did. So God’s people are the light of the world. Where do they get their light From the sun from God?

So he says that There’s no, there’s no sun. There’s no moon. The glory of God illuminates it. The lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in his light and the Kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor him Into it. Now I got a question for you. This is the new Jerusalem and the new Jerusalem is after the judgment day and it’s in heaven.

Then what Kings of the earth are going to bring their glory into the new? There are no Kings in the earth. There’s no word. If this is after the judgment day, these statements beginning here, make no sense. There are no Kings of the earth. There are no nations in the earth If this is in heaven. So who are These people?

But what if this is the church? What if in Paul’s day, the gospel went even into the very house of Caesar and nations and peoples and Kings were converted. And all the glory they had as Kings suddenly became part of the church. Its Gates shall not be shut at all by day where there shall be no night there and they shall bring the glory.

And the honor of the nations into it. If this is heaven, who, what nations, there are no nations. They’ve all been cast in the Lake of fire, but there shall by no means enter anything that the files or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. In contrast to old Israel,

where every time Israel started going really good and started being faithful to the Lord. Somebody came in and turned it the wrong direction. Another King or Rose who wouldn’t follow the Lord or some adviser would come along or some general would come along and he lead the people off into apostasy or false prophets would come in and they teach the people to sin. God says not in my kingdom,

not in my church, no one enters my church that defiles it. No one comes in except those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life, then notice what we read. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal proceeding from the throne of God and of the lamb in the middle of its streets. And on either side of the river was the tree of life,

which bore 12 fruits. Each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations. I’m just going to ask it one more time. What nations, if it’s heaven, what nations are outside of heaven needing to come in and eat of the tree of life? None. So where did Jesus provide access to eternal life?

Because that’s what the tree of life was all about. By the way, go back to Genesis chapter three, God kicks them out of the garden and says they can’t come back in here for if they eat of the tree, they won’t die. So the tree in the garden was eternal life, and God said, you’ve sinned. You can’t have that.

Jesus said, I came that I might give you eternal life. And John chapter 17 said, and this is eternal life That you might know the father. Jesus, didn’t say, I’ll give you eternal life in promise. So that one day when you die, you’ll Have it. No, Because he didn’t grant eternal life to flesh and blood. God granted it to a soul.

When you go down to the watery grave of baptism and you die to sin, you rise up in newness of life. And if you are faithful until death, you will never Die. There is no second death. Even if this flesh and blood dies and it will, You don’t die. There is No second death for The Christian. They don’t die again.

They died right there. Okay. So then notice what he says In the middle of its street. And on either side was the river on either side or was the tree of life, which bore 12 fruits. Each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations. Everything that this world needs. It says in it’s already in the church.

Everything, every nation needs that’s destroyed. That’s decimated. That’s going to war. That’s defeating its own people. That’s killing its own people. Everything they need is already in the church because in the churches, the gospel, And if They would be obedient to the gospel of Christ, every one of those problems would be Go away. Every one of them And there shall be no more curse,

but the throne of God and of the lamb shall be in it. And his servants shall serve him. Do we have access to the throne of God today? Yes, we do. Fijian chapter or sorry, Hebrews chapter four, verses 14 through 16. We have boldness to enter the throne and to ask for help in time of need. Okay. They shall see his face and his name shall be on their foreheads.

Jesus said to those who were faithful, the churches, he said, I’ll write my name on you. Did he say, I’ll write my name on you when you die and get into heaven? Nope. He said, if you’ll be faithful now Shall be no light. There. They need no lamp nor light from the sun for the Lord. God gives them light and they shall reign forever.

And ever then he said to me, these words are faithful and true. And the Lord, God of the Holy prophets sent his angel to show his servants the things which must This one’s really hard to get over shortly, take place, Following everything. He just said, he said, this must shortly take place. What you just saw, John must shortly take place.

But he goes on. He says, behold, I am coming quickly. Bless it. As he who keeps the words and the prophecies of this book. Now it’s going to be interesting because he’s going to lay forth a blessing for those who keep the words of the book and a curse against those who don’t. And if the curse is, as we’re going to see in a minute,

don’t apply until he turned 80. Then the curse doesn’t make any sense. If the blessing doesn’t apply till eternity, the blessing doesn’t make any sense. Watch this. Okay. Now I, John saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things, then he said to me,

see that you do not do that for, I am your fellow servant and of your brother in the profits and of those who keep the words of this book, worship God. So John sees himself fall down and worship the angel again. And the angel says, no only worship the Lord. I’m just like you I’m just like the prophets on just like the servants.

I’m just like everybody else who obeys God worship God. Okay. So then we read and he said to me, do not seal up. The words of the prophecy of this book for the time is at hand, this hearkens right back to Daniel. Remember Daniel was given the prophecy. Daniel was given the visions and Daniel was told, seal it up because the time is not yet.

John is given the prophecy. And by the way, 600 years later, the time was at hand. Now John’s given the prophecy and John’s told don’t seal it up the time. Is it a, and so are we supposed to believe that Daniel who’s time wasn’t at hand and had to wait 600 years is now that is, is now being applied to John.

And John’s being told the time is at hand, but we need to wait a little more than 2000 years to get there. No, in Daniel’s day, the time wasn’t at hand in John’s day, it was okay. So then he says then verse 11, he who is just let him be unjust. Still. Who has filled the lead. He filthy still.

He who is righteous. Let him be righteous. Still. He who is Holy, let him be Holy. Still is God here saying to John, you know what? Don’t worry about breaching that don’t don’t, don’t worry about converting people that don’t, don’t worry about it monitoring. No, no. The, the declaration here is I’m coming in judgment and whatever their state is,

when I get there, that’s what they’re going to be when I judge them. Okay. If they’re in iniquity, they’re going to still be there. If they’re in righteousness, they’re still going to be there and I’m going to judge them based upon their works. Okay? So verse 12, verse 12 through the end and behold, I am coming quickly.

And my reward is with me to give to everyone. According to his work, I am the alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last bless it is he are blessed, are those who do his commandments, that they may have rind to the tree of life and may enter the Gates in, excuse me, enter through the Gates into the city,

but outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practices a lie. I, Jesus have sent my angel to testify to you. These things in the churches, I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and the morning star and the spirit and the bride say What com And led him and let him who hears say,

come and lead him who thirst come and whoever desires, let him take of the water of life freely is Jesus saying when all this is over, when the world’s come to an end and judgment days come, then finally the bride and the spirit and the lamb are going to invite people to partake in the water of life. Nope, Jesus is telling the church and everyone who will hear you can have the water of life freely Right now.

So come, He concludes for, I testified everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in his book. What plagues plagues back in chapters, 15 and 16, the plagues that he poured out on the earth. Now somebody manipulated the prophecy of this book in the fourth,

where they going to get the plagues? Are they just going to have to wait? No, they were going to get them, but did the people in the days of Rome get the plagues in a literal form or a spiritual form, a spiritual form did the person in the fourth century who tried to manipulate the book of revelation and change its meaning, get it in spiritual form or physical form,

spiritual form. He said it. I for, I testify that he who hears the words of the prophecy of the book. If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the prophecy of this or the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life and from the Holy city and from the things which are written in this book,

he who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming quickly. The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. And that’s the book of revelation. We’ll go over some questions at another point for chapter 21 and 22. We’ll do that Wednesday before we get back into our normal studies. Thank you for your attention.<inaudible><inaudible> yeah.

Hi.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Good morning. Welcome to the Collierville Sunday morning services. It’s great to see each and every one of you out here this morning. So glad you’ve had the opportunity to come here to sing songs of praise and worship God with us this morning, for those of you that are online or on the phone, listening know that you are still in our thoughts and prayers.

We pray for each and every one of you every day and pray for an end to this COVID-19 pandemic so that we can all assemble here again one day, hopefully soon and worship God announcements for this morning. If you did not get the Lord’s supper, please take this opportunity while I’m going through the announcements to pick it up. It’s on the tables in the back.

I do not see any visitors, but if there is a visitor here that I’m not seeing, well, you are welcome here. We’re glad that you chose to worship with us this morning and please fill out a visitor’s card for us. Before I get into the sick, I want to go and I’m sure everybody sees him here, but Terry Whitley is back Terry and his wife,

Patricia are both past the COVID-19. So that’s a good thing. We need to praise the Lord and thank God for that, that they have both made it through there. Terry says, you know, Patricia didn’t really have anything at all, but he had some pretty severe symptoms. So thank God for Terry’s recovery. And it’s good to see you back,

sir, remembering our sick John Springer, Dorothy Wilson, Janet Jones, Robin woods, Jessica Dale, and then Tory Hensley. The Springer’s granddaughter is still waiting for her results from her MRI that she had done on her brain. And then Gary Wheeler. I do not have an update on Gary cause Barbara is not here this morning, but please continue to pray for each and every one of those also have a card here.

I want to read this morning. It says to my church family many thanks for the pretty fall bulky that I receive by the ladies of Diana and Sylvia. It was thoughtful and appreciated and brighten my week for sure. It was so good to see those two ladies, even though it was from a far distance, thanks to the church. Also for the many cards I’ve received over the past months,

each and everyone is so very much appreciated. I miss being there and miss all of you, please continue to pray for Tori and myself in Christian Love Joan sprayer. I’ll put this up on the board out there. The only other announcement I have is Paula is working on the 2021 church calendar. So if you know of anything that needs to be added to that,

we need to get that into her soon so she can get that calendar printed for us because 2021 is right around the corner for our services. This morning, our song leader will be Michael Dale Opening. Prayer will be Joel caisson. The Lord’s supper will be Jay Shafir and sermon will be from Aaron cold start and closing. Prayer will be Tommy Lasseter. Thank you.

Our opening song this morning will be number 860. There is a habitation number 860. I’ll let Tommy figure out the projector real quick on there. There it is.<inaudible><inaudible> who see that grand<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> for<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> in long<inaudible>. Oh,<inaudible><inaudible> no<inaudible> no, no<inaudible> no,<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> in long<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and let me see<inaudible> no praise is<inaudible>.

Oh,<inaudible> long Gates to see<inaudible><inaudible> the<inaudible> The song before our opening prayer will be number 764. Teach me Lord to wait. This one is not on the screen. So please use your book. Number 764. Teach me Lord to wait.<inaudible> right.<inaudible> you answer? Please teach me<inaudible> but to<inaudible> from you, teach me<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> what you want me to be<inaudible> upon the Lord<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> teach me.

Lord. Teach me to<inaudible> Oh dear God. Our father in heaven, we, they come before your throne thinking that you are God, our God, that created all of mankind. The one that loves us so much, his precious son died upon the cross of Calvary to redeem us from our sins father in heaven. We often take so much for granted in our lives that we often forget who we really ought to be.

Yeah. We often forget to be the right example before others. We often fail to reach out to those that are not your children, your God. We often take life itself for granted. We don’t take any precautions to make sure that we stay healthy. We pray father that you bless each and every one of us that’s here today and be filled with Thanksgiving that we were able to come here and worship you the one and true living God.

They were able to remember our savior and the sacrifice he made there on the cross that he bore our sins there and shed his precious blood. Often father, we failed to be thankful for our families or our mates for our parents, for our children, Brand Children. And great-grandchildren we so often forget to remember one another as this body of Christ in our prayers,

daily father. We’re so thankful that Terry and Patricia are over the virus. We pray that you continue to bless them and pray that they continue to be well. We pray for those that others that were mentioned that are facing different trials in their lives with their health. We pray that you be with those that are administering to them, that they might be able to regain that health.

And once again, be with us Father, we’re mindful of those that have drifted away, need some encouragement. And we pray that we might be attentive to those needs and be better to be able to say, or do something that might stir their hearts and their minds to realize where they are and that they truly do want to come back and serve and glorify you are there help us each day that we remember your words,

that we look to it, the scriptures often to tip, strengthen our lives and to help us to be able to reach others with the gospel. We pray father that we always are mindful of those that are outside the body, that we do have a love for their souls, that we do want to be there for them and help to stir their thinking that they come to know your will and want to be obedient to it.

Father, we’re so grateful for Aaron and his family. We’re so thankful for the abilities that they have to encourage this congregation. And for the blessing, it is to have a minister of the gospel that said is the word deeply and is able to teach our classes and to preach out the word here to this congregation in such a way that it’s so easy to understand your will.

And it truly stars our minds and our hearts to try to be better, to want to serve you more are for Michael Jones and his family and him going to the school of preaching. We pray that you strengthen him and bless Sam as he continues his studies there. And we’re so grateful for him and wanting to be a better master of the gospel, bless them and strengthen them.

Bless each family here, father. And we pray that we all try to work together for the good of the church, for the good of our own souls. And hopefully to reach out in this area, we pray that we be compassionate and patient and kind and loving as we go through life that others truly see Jesus living in us, bless us and our worship to stay and help us out.

Always draw closer to you and closer to one another. And we pray for that home in heaven with a and Jesus, we pray amen Song to prepare our minds for the Lord’s supper will be number three, 353, one day number 353 One day. When<inaudible> one day when<inaudible> was as black as could be. He, Jesus came for to be born of a judge,

dwell among man, my example and see<inaudible> me jogging. He saved me buried. He<inaudible> my sins.<inaudible> Hey<inaudible> Hey<inaudible><inaudible> Oh, one day he’s<inaudible> Oh, glory us. Yay. One day they let him<inaudible> Oh, one day<inaudible> to die on the tree. So off a<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> me dying. He said, Hey,

saved me buried. He<inaudible> my son<inaudible><inaudible> ah.<inaudible> one day he is<inaudible>. Oh, glory. Yay. One day<inaudible> on and God, or one day he from<inaudible> free. Angela’s came down. No<inaudible><inaudible> my savior. See<inaudible> me dying. He say, Hey me.<inaudible> my son.<inaudible><inaudible> one day. He is<inaudible>.

Oh, glory. Yay. One day gray can sell him no long. One day<inaudible> rolled way from<inaudible> and then he<inaudible> now is<inaudible> my Lord.<inaudible> me.<inaudible> me.<inaudible> Hey,<inaudible><inaudible> one day he’s<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> me.<inaudible> me.<inaudible> my son<inaudible> Hey<inaudible><inaudible> Oh, one day he’s<inaudible>.

Oh, glory. Dang. As we prepare to participate in this Lord, suffer less free or minds of all our worldly thoughts and focus upon the sacrifice that Jesus made for each of us go to our father in prayer and only father. We were so very grateful for this privilege. We have to assemble about this table. And as we partake of this and emblem of the bread,

which represents your son’s body, that was sacrificed on the cross, help us to realize how significant that really is to each and every one of us that we have that hope of eternal life with you. One day in Jesus name, we pray, amen.<inaudible> Again, father, as we continue this Memorial and partake of this fruit of the vine, which represents the blood that was sacrificed for permission of our Sams,

help us to protect this and aware of their manner that it was acceptable in their sight. It’s in your son’s name that we pray, amen.<inaudible> This concludes the Lord’s supper. And we find this a convenient time to offer prayer for our offering. We’re commanded on first day of each week to lay by and store as we’ve been prospered. So let’s once again,

go to the father in prayer<inaudible> And my father is we again, come before that throne. We’re so very grateful for the many material blessings that you have. So richly Mr. Bowden on our lives help us always to remember that these blessings come from you and that we are merely stewards of the while we’re here on this earth, help us to give freely.

And may these funds be used to further your word here and also to promote your word worldwide. It’s in his name that we pray. Amen Song before the lesson will be number 346. He lives. And if you’re able, let’s stand for this song please. Number 346 is the invitation song on the slides. Okay? Invitation song will be on the slide.

He lives. I serve a risen savior. He’s in the world today. I know that he is living whatever man may say, Hey, I see his hand up. I hear his moist Searchie and a slow time. I need him. He is always<inaudible> Christ Jesus<inaudible>. He walks with me and talks with me.<inaudible> salvation to him.<inaudible> you asked me<inaudible><inaudible> my<inaudible> and all the world around me.

I see his loving, eh, no, my heart grows<inaudible> I never, well, I know that he is leading through all the stormy, blah, blah. Here’s up here? Me. Well,<inaudible> he<inaudible> Christ Jesus<inaudible>. He walks with me and walks with me along life’s narrow way. Hey, he<inaudible> you asked me<inaudible> he<inaudible> my<inaudible> rejoice.

We joined. So Chris, John, lift up your voice and sing<inaudible> to Jesus Christ King. The hope of all Hersey cam<inaudible> no, no. So loving, so good. And ah, he<inaudible> Christ Jesus<inaudible>. He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. Hey<inaudible> you asked me<inaudible><inaudible> my<inaudible> may be seated.

Good morning. Most, if not, all of you know, because you’ve been in the class at some point, we’ve been going through the book of revelation in our classes, on the adult classes on Sunday and on Wednesday. And we’d gone through a number of passages that in the book of revelation, reference things that sound like the judgment day. And we’ve looked at those in their context.

And we’ve said a number of times my sound like the judgment day, but it’s not. And to avoid the possibility that somebody might come along at some point and say, well, I’m not sure Aaron believes in the judgment day. I thought what we would do this morning is spend a little time talking about the last day because the new Testament is very clear about that day.

The new Testament teaches us very clearly about when this life will come to an end when this life and when this world and all that is in, it will be no more. So this morning, I want to begin noticing in noticing second, Peter chapter three, Peter writes to the church, second, Peter chapter three beginning in one. And we’re just going To primarily notice Three passages.

There are many more, Or that could be discussed. There are many more that could be talked about, and there are many more that include more detail. But for the sake of our time, We’re going to notice three Second, Peter chapter three. And in verse one, beloved, I now write to you this second epistle in both of which I stir up your pure minds,

by way of reminder, Peter makes it clear as Peter teaches those Christians in the first century that he is writing to them to remind them of what they all ready Know. He’s Not writing to them, new things. They’ve never heard before. He’s not writing to them a different thing than what they preached when they were in their presence. He’s writing to them things to remind them,

to stir Them up and To get their hearts and minds Ready for what is to come. Then You may be mindful verse two of the words, which were spoken before by the Holy prophets and of the commandments of us, the apostles of the Lord and savior notice. First and foremost, he says to those Christians, he says, you were told this by the prophets of old.

This is not something that just started with Jesus and started with the apostles. This is the fulfillment of what you have been told for generations going back into the old Testament. So the old Testament prophets spoke of it and the apostles spoke Of it. Then he says this, knowing this first, That scoffers will come in the last days, walking, according to their own lunch and saying,

where is the promise of his coming for? Since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning. Creation. Peter makes it clear. As he writes to these Christians, as he Brings forward the profits and brings forward the teaching of the other apostles together to these brethren, he makes it clear to them that there would be people who would rise up from among themselves,

from among the Christians And say, he ain’t coming back here. Clearly isn’t coming back because he hasn’t come Back yet. And they’ll use as their justification for their position, that everything is continued to exist. The way that it was from the day of creation until now Nothing Ever changes. Generations come and generations go. Therefore, because generations come and generations go,

generations will come and go. Never. And Peter says they have a problem with their reasoning. They have a problem with their line of argumentation because it hasn’t always been That way. And notice what he says. He says for this, they willfully forget that by the word of God, the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of water and in the water,

by which the world that then existed perished being flooded With water Peterson. It says these people who claim that the world is just continued on without fail generation after generation, that nothing ever changes, Army Missing one glaringly obvious example of things, changing a great deal Because God, in the days of Noah Brought judgment on a wicked world and by grace saved eight souls out of an entire plant.

Peter says, if he did that, what makes You think he won’t do what He’s promised already notice what he said. He says, he says by which the world that then existed perish verse six, being flooded with water, but the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by the same word, the same word. What the same word that brought the flood.

The same word that brought 40 days and 40 nights of rain. The same word that broke up the ground and brought water from beneath the earth. The same word that brought the flood above the tops of the very mouth. The same word that brought, that has caused the world to come, Continue to exist. What the hell, Humans in the earth,

which are now preserved by the same word are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But beloved do not forget this. One thing that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years in is a thousand years as one day, the Lord is not Slack concerning his promises. Some men count slackness, but as long suffering toward us,

not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The same word that brought the flood. The same word that preserved the earth from that point until now is the same word that reserved this world for fire Around four o’clock in the afternoon, look over at your spouse and say, what do you want for dinner? Your spouse says,

I don’t care. What do you want? I tell you what, let’s make a reservation at this fine restaurant. It’s not COVID world. It’s some imaginary world where you can actually go to a restaurant and you call up the phone. You say, I need a reservation for two. I want to sit over in the corner. I want this to eat.

This is what I want. This is my reservation. God said this world that I created this, This world and everything in this physical universe that I created, I have reserved Its end. I have gone ahead and told you exactly how it’s going, Going to go. And because I created it, I have the power to do it. And these Christians who were coming forth,

these scoffers as Peter calls them, We’re saying, it’s not going to happen. He hasn’t come back yet. And since he hasn’t come back yet, therefore he must not ever plan on coming Back. Peter says, you misunderstand our God. Yes, You misunderstand who he is and you misunderstand his power and his knowledge. If you say tomorrow, I’m going to get up in the morning and go to work.

You have a good plan that you’re going to do that. But with the Lord, he can say a thousand years from now, I’m going To do this. And he can do it with the same ease at which you can say tomorrow, I’m going to do this. He is not Slack concerning his promises. Unlike humanity, you get up first thing in the morning and you say four o’clock,

I’m going to exercise Around three 55. You look instead at the refrigerator refrigerator and say, I think I’ll exchange Exercise for a snack. The Lord is not Slack concerning his promises. As some men count slackness but is Long suffering. So We question, wait a minute. If God is going to return, surely things have gotten as bad as they’re ever going to get Shirley.

It is time what’s he waiting on. And Peter says every single day, the Lord waits. We are to understand that to be his long suffering. We are to understand that that is because he desires that everyone Should come to repentance Verse 10, but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. That phrase was used by Jesus repeatedly.

To describe a time when people were not ready, the thief doesn’t call in advance and say, I’m going to be there at 7:00 PM. Make sure you have the dogs out and make sure you got the gun loaded and make sure the doors are locked. He comes when you’re not ready. God will come Not on a day prophesied by some religious fanatic who thinks he knows how to interpret signs and symbols,

but on a day of his choosing, where there will be no signs of his coming according to Jesus, but as a day or as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise. And the elements will melt with fervent heat, both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up Jesus Or excuse me,

Peter, as he is writing to these Christians says there was a day when God wiped the planet, clean with water. But When this judgment comes, when the day comes, where he returns, when he is revealed on that final day, it’s not going to be wiping the planet clean. It’s going to be burning it up. It is reserved For fire.

And he says the works And the substance of this earth will be no more. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons are you to be in Holy conduct and godliness looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on fire. And the elements will melt with fervent heat.

Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a newer in which righteousness dwells. Peter brings forward old Testament language of a new heavens and a new earth, a new dwelling place for the people of God, God, We’ve made it clear in our studies in the adult class. That every time we see new heavens and new earth,

it’s not supposed to be an interpretation of exactly what’s going to happen. It’s supposed to be a picture, an old Testament picture of God, preparing a place for his people. Jesus made this statement. Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go, then I will come and bring you to where I am. Jesus.

This did not promise the apostles a home on this earth. Jesus did not promise his apostles, a dwelling place on this earth where he would return to them. And well with them, Jesus promised his apostles at dwelling place in heaven, where he would return and bring them to Him self. But yet notice this phrase in verse 12, Peter says, We don’t know when the day will be.

We don’t know when Jesus will return, but he does say what we are to be doing. In the meantime We are to be looking for And hastening The coming of the day of God. What does he mean? What does Peter mean? Buying the idea that we’re to be looking for and hastening the, The day of God? Well, first of all,

Well, we read in the previous verse that because all these things will be dissolved because there’s coming a day when this earth will be no more. When this universe will be no more. When the works of this earth will be no more. We ought to live in Holy conduct and godliness. If we live our lives here in view of our lives, there,

we will live our lives, Then holiness in this life. But he also makes it clear that we don’t just live our lives in holiness saying like, well, someday I’m going to die. We live our lives every day as if today Might be our last. We look for that day. Not just the day when our lives are over because we die of old age or we die of some disease.

We don’t look for that day. We look for the return Of Christ and we do so with anticipation. Sometimes we struggle with that idea. Sometimes we go, but I want to see my kids grow up, but I want to see my grandkids, But I want to see fill In the blank and that’s not wrong nor unnatural, but in our better moments,

when We put our mind in view of the word of God, we go. But Oh, what a day? That will be When my children, who I want to see, grow up, never Have to experience pain again. When those who have gone before, who I’ve attended Their funerals and I’ve laid them in the ground, I get to see again,

you win. We struggle with the here and now and the, what we can see and the, what we can hope for, but God Dozens. And yet he calls upon us while we are still here to not focus on tomorrow. But the soul Is lost today. Therefore we are supposed to be looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.

When you hasten the coming of the day of God, you preach the gospel. When you hasten the coming of the day of God, you prepare the world for what God wants. And that is that no one Should fail to come to repentance. We are to be those who are looking for the coming of the day of God. We are also be those who are preparing this world for that day,

but one other passage, or the second passage that I want us to notice is just a few pages over in your new testaments. In first John chapter four first John chapter four, John has spent the bulk of this chapter discussing the attribute of love That belongs to God. Okay? Not just that God does that, which is love, but God is love.

And in verse 17, we read the love has been perfected among us in this that we may have boldness In the day of judgment because as He is, so are We in this world? One Of the greatest things that God Has given us is love when we didn’t deserve it is love when we couldn’t ask for it. His Love when we had no rights To it,

because the attribute of love is the center. Most attribute of God. And he loved us when we were unworthy. And so we, as Christians, as we develop ourselves and understand who he is, as we grow in our knowledge of him, as we come closer to every day, we are to become Love. We are to have love perfected in us.

But notice this. He says, when love is perfected in you, you can stand in the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world therefore, or excuse me, there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made. Perfect in love. We love him because he first loved.

God said, you’re lost. You’re in your sins and you’re going to die. And if you die in that state, my justice has no choice. My justice must punish you if you die in that state, But I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you don’t Die in that state. So John Jay Chapter three verse 16 said for God,

so loved the world that he gave. His only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting. He loved us first and yet the last day is coming. One more passage, Romans chapter two, Peter tells us that there are those who will doubt. Peter tells us there were those. There are those who will deny. Peter tells us that it’s coming.

And it’s a shirt and is promised by God. Peter tells us that when it comes, everything that is in this physical world will be destroyed, But for God’s people, a new home awaits. But as Paul Writes to the church at Rome and deals with the problem of the Jews and the Gentiles and their, their divisiveness towards one another and God’s plan for both of them,

Paul writes to these Christians and he writes to them about that Day, Beginning in verse one, he read, we read, therefore you are inexcusable. He is addressing the Jews at the moment. He says, therefore, you are inexcusable old, man, whoever you are on who judge for in whatever you judge another, you condemn yourself for you, who judge practice the same things.

He addresses the Jews who look at the world around them and all the Gentiles. And they accuse them and they judge them and they judge them unworthy of God. And yet he addresses these Jews and says, you who judge someone else and then commit the same thing that you judge them for. Judge yourself, You condemn Yourself. But he says, but we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.

Paul is not leaving the implication that God’s not going to judge the wicked. Paul is saying, if you’re judging someone who’s wicked and then committing the same wickedness, you’re judging, God’s going to judge you too. His righteousness or excuse me, His judgment is according to truth. But then he says, verse three. And do you think this old man,

you who judge those practicing such things and doing the same, that you will escape. Yeah. Judgment of God. Paul makes it clear hypocrisy. And those who practice, it will be judged by God. But he goes on verse four. Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance and long suffering, non knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance.

This is D do you look at everything God’s given you everything God’s blessed you with as a nation Israel. And you see God’s goodness in his forbearance and his love and his long suffering. And you look at it and you don’t learn from It. You Don’t use that. Goodness, that long suffering that forbearance as an impetus for repentance To admonish you to do What is right.

But he says, verse five in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart, you are treasuring up for yourself, wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Paul, as he writes to these Jews, as he writes to these Jews, he writes to them and says, if you’re going to judge someone for their sin,

fine, but not. If you’re going to commit the same sin, then you’ve judged yourself. And if you think you can live as a hypocrite, judging someone else in committing the same thing you need to know, all you’re doing is storing up banking away, investing for the future, but you’re not investing good things. You’re not investing righteousness. You’re not investing in blessings reward.

Your investing RAF. You are storing up wrath for the day of wrath. Now wait a minute. I thought the judgment day was going to be a great day. I thought the last day was going to be a day of blessing and rejoicing. I thought the day of judgment was going to be a day when those who are righteous, come in and are welcomed by God.

It is. And yet Jesus said there was coming a day. When those who would stand before God would be separated. He said there would be a day when there would be those who had done works in his name and prophesied in his name and then done many wonderful works in his name, who he would say depart from me. You workers of iniquity.

I never knew Paul is telling these Christians, if you agree, Nor the blessings of God and the forbearance of God and the long suffering of God, and you don’t learn that you can’t live the way your ancestors did, but instead that you must repent, you will receive the same judgment, the same condemnation and the same RAF. They receive verse six.

He describes the judgment of God. He will render to each one, according to his deeds, eternal life, to those who by patient continuance in doing good, seek for glory honor. And immortality Paul says for those who don’t live like this, who don’t live in hypocrisy, Who don’t judge others and then do what they have judged. But instead those who live every day,

looking for glory, looking for honor looking for immortality, not someone wandering around in this world looking to glorify themselves, not someone wandering around in this world looking to honor themselves, not someone looking for immortality for themselves, But who are looking for the attributes of God to instill in themselves. He says, but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth,

but obey unrighteousness, indignation, and wrath, tribulation, and anguish on every soul of man who does evil of the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor, and peace to everyone who works. What is to the Jew first and also to the Greek. You remember back over in Romans chapter one, Paul makes it clear that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Paul says the Jew is going to receive the gospel. First is going to have the opportunity of salvation first but less. You think God is partial. They’re also going to be judged first. They’re also going to have wrath first or blessing first, depending upon whether or not they obey the gospel that was preached to them. And then the Greek verse 11 for there is no partiality with God,

for as many as have sinned without the law will also perish without the law. And as many of sin in the law will be judged by the law for not the hearers of the law are, are just in the sight of God. But the doers of the law will be justified for when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature, do the things in the law.

These, although ha not having the law are a law to themselves who show the work of the law, written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness and between themselves, their thoughts accusing or else excusing them in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. According to my gospel, Paul makes it clear. The Jews had the law of Moses,

the Gentiles didn’t. But when God finds a Gentile who obeyed the truth in the law though, he was never one who received the law. He will judge him according to his works and the Jew who received the law of Moses. And didn’t keep it. He will judge him according to his Works, but Jew and Gentile alike have now received the gospel To the Jew and the Gentile in that day.

And today Paul says he will judge them according to the guy. So where does that leave us? It leaves us in John chapter 12, Actually in John chapter 12, Jesus would say to these Jews, He who believes in me verse 44, believes not in me, but in him who sent me. And he who sees me, sees him, who sent me.

I have come as a light into the world. And whoever believes in me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and not believe I do not judge him Four, I did not come to judge the world, but Save the world. He who rejects me And does not receive my words has that Judges, him, the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

It leaves us here with a promise that is assured with a day that we are to be looking and hastening, but a day in which we know we will Judged not by an arbitrary ruler, not by wills or fickle decisions, But by the word that Jesus spoke, because he says, my word will judge you in the last day. Well, how will we be judged?

We will be judged according to Two hour works. How then are we to live in all in all Holy conduct and conversation looking for and hastening the day of the Lord. If you’re outside the body of Christ, you are outside of the gospel. That brings salvation. Yes. If you are outside of the gospel, that brings salvation. You are outside Of the hope of eternity.

If you are outside of the hope of eternity, you reside in the wrath God, and there’s coming a day where you will stand before him in judgment. And all you will have as you stand before him in judgment is your evil Needs to testify concerning your works. You say, well, wait a minute, but I’ve done good things too. Yes,

but unfortunately good deeds do not merit salvation. Only a perfect sacrifice can obtain salvation. And one who is sinned cannot be a perfect sacrifice, but that’s okay because that’s why God first loved us and sent his son to die on the cross for your sins and for mine. So if you’re outside the body of Christ outside the gospel and outside of hope, you can change that by coming into contact with the blood of the sacrifice of Christ.

But how do you do? You don’t do it by just faith. You don’t do it by prayer. You do it by hearing the word of God and obeying it. You do it by hearing the gospel and then doing what it says. What does it say to do? Jesus said that except you believe that I am, he you’ll die in your sins.

And that’s true. But Jesus also said, except you repent. You will die in your sins. And that’s also true. But he also said, you have to believe in me. And that involves a confession and a recognition of who he is, that he is the Christ, the son of living. God, not just that. He was some somewhere.

Not that he was just some prophet, not that he was Elijah or one or Isaiah or one of the profits, but he was Jesus Christ. The son of God. Well then having done that, you have to come into contact with his blood. You have to die to sin and you do that in a watery grave of baptism because Jesus said he,

that believes and is baptized shall be saved. You have need of that this morning. You can do that. You’re outside the body of Christ. You have hope you’re a member of the body of Christ. That’s not been living like tomorrow may be your last day. You also have hope, but it involves change. You have need of the invitation. Why not come now?

As we stand in, as we sing<inaudible> but blah<inaudible> and<inaudible> me.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> to the<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> just<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> like, like<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> like, like Song before the closing prayer will be number 852. When the roll is called up yonder heed five,

two. When the Trump and other launch on sound and time shall be no more and no morning breaks. You turn up bright and fast. When they’re saved, gather over on the, the shore. And our role is called up yonder. I’ll be there. Hey, when he was called up and when he was called up,<inaudible> when the role is called up beyond<inaudible> on that ride in cleanliness morning when the dead in Christ shall rise and the glory of his resurrection<inaudible> when his chosen one shall gather to their home.

The guys and their role is called the beyond. Be<inaudible> is called up.<inaudible> when a roll is called up beyond a I’ll be the Hey neighbor for the master, from the Dawn to setting side, there’s talk of here’s one dress and Kay, Hey<inaudible> is over. And a work on earth is done and the roll is called up yonder<inaudible> is called up<inaudible> and it’s called up.

And when a roll is called up beyond a hobby, What’d you buy with me the God and father in heaven. We’re indeed thankful for another beautiful day of life. That you’ve blessed us with father. We’re thankful for this hour that we were able to worship the same prices under the and father. We pray that our worship today has been acceptable and pleasing in that site,

by the word mindful at this time, if those who have been mentioned sick, we pray father, if it bait, I will, that you are turning them back to a good state of health and their most wanted health. They can be back with us, by the way. We’re also mindful that we have members here. They may be traveling and we pray father that you will be with them and comfort them as they travel.

And that they may have a safe destination. Father were thankful for your son, Jesus, and that great sacrifice on that cross. And we just pray father that as we leave this building and go back to our workplace and being out in the public and those around us, we can be that shining light and that good example of bring lost souls today, father,

we pray that you’ll be with this country, with the issues that are going on and father, we know that it’s possibly a shame, no doubt. It’s a shame at times, father, and we pray that you will be with the leaders of this country, father, that we can turn this country back around and bring praise and glory today. But I would pray that you’ll be with us and keep us safe.

Forgive us of our sins in Jesus name. Amen.

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11-22-2020 Revelation 21 (The Old Testament Context) (Class) & Worship

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams, Revelation, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

Automated Transcript:

<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Good morning.<inaudible> We’re continuing our study of revelation. We’re going to go over the questions from revelation chapter 21st, and then for those who glanced over the, the handout, you know, you might be expecting something a little different this morning. We are going to do something a little different this morning, because I want to, I want to take a few moments and we’ll talk about this more in just a minute,

but I want to take a few moments this morning, and we’ve talked a lot about old Testament passages and their influence on revelation. And before we get out of revelation, I actually want to spend one class going back and really just dipping our minds into those old Testament passages and getting some of the ideas out of them before we get into revelation chapter 21 and 22,

because, well, let me hold off on the, because I’ll get to that in a minute, but let’s start with a word of prayer and then we’ll go through the questions on 20. And I’ll circle back to that thought in a minute gracious father in heaven, we bow before you at this time grateful for the day that you’ve given to us for the life that we have and the health that we have,

the abilities we have to come together to study your word and to serve you. We are grateful for this day that you’ve granted to us, and we’re grateful for the rain that gives life to all the things on this earth. We’re grateful for every day that we see whether sunshine or rain, because we know that it is just one more reassurance that you are there.

We pray that you will be with those who are struggling because of illnesses, difficulties, injuries, ailments, or loss of loved ones, all these things that we deal with on a daily basis while in this life. And we pray that you will give us comfort and strength and that we will search for that comfort and strength in your word, that we will have faith and understanding concerning the things in this life and what is to come.

We pray this nation and the choices direction that it’s going, the choices that will be made and the direction that it goes will be those things that will open more doors of opportunity to teach the loss, to declare your name and to glorify you. We pray for the world and every nation, that those things will also be true as well. We pray for those in this community and our leaders here locally,

may they make wise decisions and strive to make decisions that are in accordance with your word. May we always seek to help those who are in need be kind to those who are unkind to us and live the example of your son in our lives. All this we pray in Jesus name, Amen Revelation, chapter 20, question one of these aspects of the vision,

which is literal a, the key beef bottomless pit. See the chain D the dragon E Satan or F the thousand years E Satan. Okay. In the midst of that chapter 20 verses one and two, the literal thing is the thing that is the explanation and not part of the vision. Verse two, what we have said, or, sorry, let me read that the way it’s written.

What have we said? The number 1000 or something multiplied by a thousand represents in revelation, completeness or perfection. Okay. What happens to the dragon after the thousand years Released for a little season or while question four, who’s sat and rained with Christ for a thousand years martyrs. Okay. That that’s important. It’s the martyrs that reign with him. Does the passage anywhere say that Christ reigned for only a thousand years?

No. It doesn’t. How many resurrections did John see? Two, Which one was literal or historical? I E bodily resurrection of people who had died Answers. Neither. Neither. Yeah. The first resurrection is the, the second resurrection is everybody else, but it’s all visionary. It’s all part of the vision. If there neither one of them is a literal bodily resurrection in the sense that we’re looking forward to when Christ returns.

Okay. Let’s see. Where was I? Question seven. What does Satan do when he is released? All right. He deceives the nations and gathers them to battle against who’s Satan, always fighting against Christ and the Christians. Okay. And he goes back to doing exactly what he was doing before he was thrown in the bottomless pit for a thousand years.

Okay. So he makes war or prepare for battle by what were the dead judged in the second resurrection By their works. Okay. What was cast into the Lake of fire? Death and hell or Hades, depending on which translation you’re using. Where did we see these two previously in the book. Okay. As the RA, the rider on the pale horse,

his, his death and Hades is following after him. That’s in revelation. What chapter? Chapter six. And it’s the fourth seal. Okay. So you could put for the answer there, you could put the, the pale horse revelation six, the sick, there were the fourth seal. Any of those are good answers to that question. Who else was cast into the Lake of fire?

Anyone not found in the book of life. Okay. So set aside revelation, chapter 20 for a minute in chapter 19 and 20 and 21 and 22, you’re seeing the progression of visions that tell trues. And like we talked about on Wednesday, we would be inconsistent to say to a pre millennialist, you need to be consistent on your interpretation. If you’re going to say it’s literal,

like the thousand years is literal, then everything around it has to be literal and you need to be consistent with that. So too, we have to be consistent. We talked about, like I said, we talked about this a little bit on Wednesday. If we’re going to say that the thousand years, this isn’t literal and the bottomless pit isn’t literal and the dragon isn’t literal in the sense of,

they declare trues about what God is doing and has done, but they’re not intended to be understood as historical events in history story. Then we also need to be consistent, okay. To then come to the last two chapters of revelation and flip-flop are hermaneutic art interpretation of the book. And immediately go now at chapter 21, everything you read here is literal,

and it’s going to happen when Christ returns number for two, for two reasons, that was a problem. Number one, you have things you can’t explain in chapter 21 and 22. If that’s your interpretation of chapters, 21, 22, we’ll get to that, that on Wednesday, there are things in this passage that if you interpret this as the day of judgment and heaven and eternity,

they make no sense. If you remain consistent, though, with the interpretation that we’ve had all the way through the book, which is, here’s what he said, I saw. Here’s what it means. You not only get the picture from the old Testament brought forward as John has done over and over and over and over and over in the book. But you also get trues that are timeless and pictures that are timeless,

that you can look at heaven and see those as a pluggable, trues for eternity. Okay. So what we’re going to do in this lesson today, and why probably won’t get through all these questions. We’re going to go through the questions that we handed out today. These are all old Testament passages. But what I want us to do is I want us to go through these old Testament passages,

because I don’t want you or anyone to it ever go through. And listen to me, teach revelation 21 and 22 and say, well, Aaron said it. That must be what it means. Cause that’s the terrible hermeneutics. Please don’t ever use that method of interpretation. Aaron said it, therefore it’s true. But also because I don’t want you to assume that because I’m saying all this stuff is in the old Testament that it’s actually there.

I want you to have it in your hands. I want you to look through the passages as we go through this morning. And if we don’t get all the way through the questions, I’m going to let you spend the rest of the time on your own study, filling these in because it’s all straight from the text. It’s all from the old Testament.

Well, we won’t spend two classes on it, but I want this information in your records, in your file. So that when you go back to your notes on 21 and 22, you go, where did he get all this stuff from? Well, here’s where it is. And by the way, even since I finished the questions, there’s more passages.

I wish I had included, but we’ll talk about them as we get through chapters 21, 22. So today is all old Testament. It’s all old Testament. And it’s all where all these pictures that we’re going to read about in 20 and 21 and 22, it’s where they all come from is the old Testament. And they’re as true today as they were when God gave them under a different law,

under a different covenant, to a different people. Okay? God spoke these things to Israel before Christ had ever come. And we need to learn and appreciate what God was saying and the truth of what he said and the pictures he used to declare that truth. So we’re going to begin in Isaiah chapter 11. All, most all of this will come from Isaiah,

but there’s, there’s more that could be gleaned from, from other books. We’ve got a few at the end, but we’re going to try and go through this as logically and, and contextually as possible. Isaiah chapter 11, we’re going to read a section. We’re going to answer some questions. So we’re going to begin with Isaiah 11 verses one through nine,

there shall come forth. A rod from the STEM of Jesse. I’ll make a few comments as we go through, but I’m not gonna spend a lot of time making comments where we won’t get anywhere close to finished. But the rod here is Christ. This is a, this is a prophecy concerning the Messiah. The STEM of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. The spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counsel and mind, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord. And he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes nor decide by the hearing of his ears. But with righteousness, he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.

He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breadth of his lips, he shall slay the wicked. What does God do to the wicked? And what member of the Godhead does it? All right, verse four, he shall strike the earth with his rod of the mouth. He shall slay the wicked. Okay? So he,

he destroys the, but which member of the Godhead is being prophesied about Jesus Christ. When you get over revelation chapter 19, how is Jesus Christ pictured On a white horse? The sword of his mouth is coming out and he’s defeating the wicked. The picture’s consistent. Okay. Verse five righteousness shall be the belt of his loins and faithfulness the belt of his waist.

Over in revelation 19, we read about him being girded about and a name that was written on his thigh and all of these things, these pictures of Christ over and over again. What is the branch wearing as a designation, righteousness and faithfulness. Okay. You go over to the, over to revelation and he’s called faithful and true. And you see his righteousness.

We’re just, we’re bringing forward. These pictures verses six through nine. The Wolf also shall dwell with the lamb. The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fat laying together. And a child shall lead them. The cow and the bear show graze. Their young ones shall lie down together. The lion chilly straw,

like the ox, the nursing child shall play by a Cobra’s hole. And the wean child shall put his hand in the Vipers den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my Holy mountain for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the water covers the sea as a result of the branches judgment. Okay? So he goes out,

he defeats the enemies of his, of God’s people as a result of the branches judgment and the knowledge of the Lord. What happens to the animal life? They live peacefully together. Now I got a question for you when the Messiah came and Jesus Christ walked on the earth and taught and died and was resurrected at what point in all that time, as Jesus was on the earth,

did the lion lay down with the lamb? Did the Wolf not attack anymore? Did the baby go near the Vipers den and stick his hand in the Vipers, Dan and not get bit, none of it, but what’s the picture when God destroys his enemies and he destroys them. So utterly there’s nothing left. Like the anguish pain, sorrow danger hurt,

nothing like that left God. So thoroughly destroys his enemies. Okay? That’s The picture is all the animal life stops being like animals. The truth is God’s. People are so secure. Nobody touches them. They can’t be hurt. Okay. There’s the picture. There’s the truth. Now let’s go to chapter 34. By the way, the pre-millennial lists are waiting for a day where lions and lambs lay down together,

physical lions and lambs Displaying that it’s not happening. Okay? God never intended for it to happen on this physical earth in that sense. Okay? Their pictures, their figures were being consistent all the way through chapter 34 verses one, let’s do one through four and then we’ll pick up verse six, chapter 34, verse one, come near you nations to hear and heed you.

People let the earth here and all that is in it, the world, and all things that come forth from it for the indignation of the Lord is against all nations. His fury against all their enemies are all their armies. He shall utterly destroy them. And he there, sorry. He shall enter to utterly destroy them. He has given them over to the slaughter.

Also their slain shall be thrown out. Their stint shall rise from their corpses and the mountains shall be melded with their blood. All the hosts of heaven shall be dissolved and the heavens shall roll up. Like us shall be rolled up like a scroll. All their hosts shall fall down as the leaf falls from the vine as the fruit falling from a big tree.

Okay. Question four. How complete is God’s judgment against the nations? Utterly 100% complete my wait a minute. Was there a time in old Testament history where God so judged all the people around Israel that there wasn’t a nation left on the face of the planet except Israel? No. Then the next question, when God judges, the nations what’s done away with,

so was there a time in Israelite history where God’s so judged the nations around Israel that heaven and earth just were gone and somehow Israel was still here. No. Now wait. Yeah. A minute over in revelation, chapter 21 and 22 in the end of chapter 20, what, what is, what goes away? What flees from the presence of God,

Heaven and earth and Wait a minute. There’s an, you know, I, I feel very unfortunate for some of my brethren who are now holding to a doctrine that there is going to be a new literal, physical heaven and new literal physical earth. When Christ returns, it comes from not being consistent with your interpretation of scripture. There’s no new heavens and new earth that we’re waiting for when Christ returns not a physical one no more than there was in Isaiah’s day.

But when Isaiah uses the picture and it speaks of a truth, John’s going to come along and use the same picture to speak of the same truth. Okay. Verse six down through, let’s do six through eight so we can get the latter portion. At the end. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood. It is made overflowing with fatness,

with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of Rams for the Lord has a sacrifice in Bosnia and a great slaughter in the land of Edam. The wild oxen shall come down with them. And the young bulls with the mighty bowls, their land shall be soaked with blood and their dust saturated with fatness for it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance.

The year of recompense for the cause of Zion. Why did the judgment come against the nations? The end of verse eight? Okay. God is bringing judgment against the enemies of his people. The vengeance is because of what they did to Zion his people. Okay? The nations are being judged here. Specifically. Bosnia Edam are being talked about, and the condemnation is how you treated.

My people go revelation. 19 revelation. Chapter 20 was God, say over and over again, you’re getting this, this judgment is coming on Rome. I’m bringing this destruction because of what you did to my people. Okay? Verse, verse nine, go down. I’m going to read down through the end of the chapter. It streams it’s streamed shall be turned into pitch that not Zion streams,

Edens streams. This is this whole chapter is a condemnation on Edam. Okay? It stream shall be turned into pitch. It’s dust into brimstone. Its land shall become a burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night or day. It smoke. Shelah sin forever from generation to generation. It shall lie. No one shall pass through it forever and ever.

All right, God says Edam. I’m turning you into a Lake of fire. I’m turning your land into that, which is covered by pitch and brimstone and fire. Now, was there a time when God turned Edam into a land of Fire? No. Okay. But verse 11 and here’s where you get the little glue. There’s not a literal Lake of fire.

It’s not a literal stream of fires. Now, literal land of pitch because what lives in it, all the animals he says, but the Pelican and the porcupine shall possess it. Also the owl and the Raven shall dwell in it. He shall stretch out over it. The line of confusion, the stones of emptiness, they shall call its Nobles to the kingdom,

but none shall be there. And all its princes shall be nothing. And thorn shall come up in its palaces, nettles and brambles in its fortresses. It shall be a habitation of jackals, a courtyard for ostriches. The wild bees of the desert shall meet with the jackals. The wild goat shall bleat with it, to its companions. Also the night creatures shall rest there and find for herself a place of rest.

Now you find do animals find themselves a place of rest and a Lake of fire or streams of brooms. No, no, that’s They are the arrow. Snake shall lay shall make her nest and lay eggs and hatch and gather them under her shadow. They are, shall be the Hawks or shall the Hawks be gathered every one with her mate search from the book of the Lord and read not one of these shall fail.

Not one shall lack her mate for my mouth has commanded it. And his spirit has gathered them. He has cast the lot for them and his hand has divided it among them with a measuring line. They shall possess it forever from generation to generation. They shall dwell in it. God says, I’ve measured you and I’ve measured your land and I’m giving it to the animals because I’m destroying you eat them.

And he would, okay. So What is the condition of the earth in this prophecy Thing about it in the figures, all right. Returned to nature, but God says I’m wiping it out. I’m I’m going to completely overtake it and destroy it and return it to nature. Okay. Chapter 35, Isaiah’s not finished. John’s not finished using his figures,

the wilderness and the wasteland. She’ll be glad for them. Let’s go down through verse seven wilderness in the wasteland. She’ll be, she’ll be glad for them. And the D the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the Rose. It shall blossom, abundant, abundantly, and rejoice. Even with joy in singing, the glory of Lebanon shall be given to it.

The excellence of caramel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellence of our God, strengthen the weak hands and make from the feeble knees, say to those who are fearful hearted, be strong and do not fear. Behold, your God will come with vengeance and will recompense with the recompense of gone. He will come and save you.

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened. The ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer in the tongue of the dumb she’ll sing for water, shall birth, forth, forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool and thirsty land Springs of water in the habitation of jackals,

where each lay there shall be grasped with reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there and a road. It shall be called the highway of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road shall the road. Although a fool shall not go astray, no lion shall be there nor shall any ravenous beast go up upon it.

It shall not be found there, but the redeem shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion was singing with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Okay. Chapter 35 verses one through four. What are the righteous told to do when the world is faced with this coming judgment?<inaudible> All right.

Be strong and fear. Not he’s coming to save you. Okay. Verses five year seven. What evidence is given of God, still being on their side.<inaudible> All right. The healing of the blind healing of the deaf, the healing of the lame and the healing of those who can’t speak, God, God hasn’t turned away. Now. Was there somebody who said,

you’ve seen this fulfilled in your hearing? Did somebody say to John’s disciples? Here’s the response you’d give to John. You’ve seen the deaf, hear the blind, see the lame walk and the silence speak. And who was that person? Christ. So, wait a minute. God says, I’m going to bring about judgment. I’m going to bring about destruction,

but I, my people to know I’m going to save them. And then he gives a whole bunch of figures in jail. Jesus says me these point to me, all right, watch this verses eight through nine. What is the mood or condition of those who walk on the highway of holiness? Okay, what are they doing though? They’re singing. And they’re at the end of verse 10,

what’s gone sorrow that somebody is going to say that anybody necessarily here, but somebody is going to say, when I get over revelation, chapter 21, that I’m going to read, there’ll be no more tears. And we sing that song, no tears in heaven. And we’re going to say, well, that can’t be on this earth because Christians still have things to be sorrowful about.

You’ve got to look at the figure and you gotta look at the truth. Here’s the picture of Israel, of the Messiah of the salvation, of the saved. And here’s the truth. God says, there’s no more cry. There’s no more tears. There’s no more sorrow. Why? Because you’ve come through all of the struggles, all of the trials,

all of the tribulation, all of the pain, all the things the beast brought upon you in revelation, under Rome. And now you’ve come through the other side and you’re not destroyed. You’re not in ashes. You’re not lame. You’re not any of those things. Why? Because he saved view. And let’s remember this. Even Paul said over in first Corinthians,

chapter 15, when he’s talking about death and the resurrection that we don’t sorrow, the way the world does, as those who have no hope. You and I, we face tears, sorrow loss, but so did the disciples of Christ. And yet he told them I’m departing from you for a little while. We experienced separation, but here’s the real truth.

Here’s the, here’s the underlying thing. God wants us to always remember. We sorrow in this life knowing there’s a life beyond it with him. So the picture of Israel in Isaiah 30 is never any sorrow again. Did that mean is real ever experienced a time where there was never any sorrow in their history? Again? No. It means as long as you’re righteous and you belong to God,

you have a time where you know, God’s with you. No matter what you go through, it’s a picture tells you a truth. Okay? I know we’re not going to get nearly, as far as I’m hope, chapter 42, Chapter 42, we’re just going to grab verses nine and 10, because you could just go all the way through the rest of the book of Isaiah.

But we don’t have time for that. Verses nine and 10 behold, the former things have come the past and new things I declare before they spring forth. I tell you of them. Okay? So verse nine, God says he does. He creates what he creates new things. The former things are gone and he creates new things. Okay? So verse who declares the quote new things before they exist,

who does that? God does. God tells you I’m going to do this. And he may not do it for a thousand years, but you can know assuredly that if he said he was going to do it, he’s going to do it. Okay. But then verse 10, saying to the Lord, a new song and his praise from the ends of the earth,

you who go down to the sea and all that is in it. You coast lands and all inhabitants of them. Isaiah calls upon God’s people to do what? Sing a new song. Now over in revelation, who is it that gets to sing a new song. There’s a specific number of them, 144,000, the 144,000 that are redeemed from the earth.

They get to sing a new song, but Isaiah’s people got to sing a new song. Israel got to sing a new song because every time God redeems his people, they get to sing a new song. There’s not a new song waiting for you in heaven. That has never been sung before. Other than the song of your redemption. That’s the song that gets sung.

Isaiah 43, verse one, actually, we’ll just do verse one. This is a fill in the blank. There’s a lot of the fill in the blanks at the end, because I knew we weren’t going to get all the way there. But again, I just want you to see those passages as they have 43 verse one. But now thus says the Lord who created you?

Oh, Jacob. And he who formed you O Israel. Fear. Not for, I have redeemed. You. I have called you by your name. You are mine. Every, sorry. God declares to Israel. I have blank. You Redeemed. I have called you by blank name.<inaudible> Your name? All right. Watch this because Isaiah’s going to do this very carefully.

He’s going to say through, God’s going to say through Isaiah, I called you by your name, but he follows it up with a statement and you are mine in a minute. He’s going to say, I gave you a new name. It was your name. I called you by it. Today is Isaiah’s birthday. And I told us as we were getting out of the van.

So, you know, it was today that I called you by your name, but it was eight years ago. You know, the day he was born, we gave him a new name, but it was his name. Okay. As Christians, we’re given a new name. God calls us by that name, but all throughout history, God’s given people new names.

Abraham didn’t stay Abraham. Did he? Jacob didn’t stay. Jacob. Did he? Okay. God gives Israel a new name. Notice here. Verse seven, chapter 43. Everyone who is called by my name, whom I have created for my glory. I have formed him. Yes. I have made him. Everyone who has called blank, whom I have created for my glory.

I have formed him. Yes. I have made him. Whose name are they called by? By my name. Okay. So God says, I’m going to call you by your name. And seven verses later, he says, and your name is my name. You Are part of me. Okay? Verse 15, chapter 43. I am the Lord.

Your Holy one, the creator of Israel. Your King question. Fear question 15. I am the Lord. Your Holy one, the blank of Israel, your King creator. Okay. Back in chapter 42, God says I make new things. And I tell about the new things. Before I make them over in chapter 43, he says, I’m going to call you by your name.

And your name is my name. And I am the creator of Israel. When you create something, nobody else has created it before. When you create something, what do you have the rights to do? Call it whatever you want. God says, I’m the one who did this and I get to call it what I want. Okay. You’re seeing here over and over and over and over and over again.

I’m in charge. And when I judge out of that judgment, I make new things. Little later on in these chapters, you’re going to see God saying, I’m going to create you a new, I’m going to do a new heavens and a new earth, new Jerusalem, but you’re going to have to go through the birthing process where you go through the pain and out of which comes something new.

Okay? Here’s this picture being used over and over again. Chapter 43 verses 18 through 21. Do not remember the former things nor consider the things of old behold. I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth. Shall you know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The bees of the field will honor me the jackals and the ostriches because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert to give drink to my people.

My chosen one. Now, when did God do that? When did God make a stream out of the desert? In history? Yeah. In the wilderness with Israel, he did it for real in history. And now he’s using it as a figure. Okay. Imagine if you were one of those animals, it spends his entire life in the wilderness,

looking for water, just to be able to make it through another day. And suddenly a spring shows up out of the middle of nowhere because God decided to give drink to his people and you get the by-product. You get a stream that shows up out of nowhere. Okay? There’s the picture. This people I have formed verse 21 for myself. They shall declare my praise.

What does he create in this passage? All right. The stream in the wilderness. Hold on to the picture. The waters of life. Now over in revelation, 21 and 22 in the midst of the garden flow the waters of life. And where do they start? Where do they originate from the throne of God? Okay. We’re not done yet.

Let’s let’s grab a couple more chapter 62 verses one through four for Zion’s sake. I will not hold my peace. And for Jerusalem sake, I will not rest until her righteousness goes forth. As a, as brightness in her salvation. As a lamp that burns the Gentiles shall see your righteousness and all Kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name,

which the mouth of the Lord will name. When everyone sees the glory of God’s people, they will be called by a new what a new name, verse three. You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord and a Royal diadem in the hand of your God, you shall no longer be termed forsaken, nor shall your land anymore.

Be termed desolate, but you shall be called<inaudible>. I don’t know what that means, but I can’t hardly pronounce it. And your land Beulah, we’ve got a song in our songbook Beulah land. Okay. That’s where it comes from. Okay? God says your land used to be called what and what?<inaudible>. And desolate is not gonna be called that anymore.

Okay. Back over to chapter 62 verses 11 and 12. Now wait a minute. Hold on. When you look in revelation, 19 and 20 was God due to the earth, destroys it with the plagues, with the bowls, with all those things, it destroys the entire planet in apocalyptic form. Just like over here in Isaiah chapter 62, God says you and your land,

you were desolate. You were forsaken. You were destroyed verses 11 and 12. Indeed. The Lord has proclaimed to the end of the world, say to the daughter of Zion, Shirley, your salvation is coming behold. His reward is with him and he has work before him. They shall, and they shall call them the Holy people, the redeemed of the Lord.

And you shall be called, sought out a city, not forsaken four terms here. God says Israel, you were forsaken and desolate. I had white. Do you out Now? Here’s your new description. Here’s what you’re going to be called. Four things. Number one, the Holy people. Number two, the redeemed of the Lord. Number three,

saw it out. Saw it after you don’t S you don’t search for something that’s forsaken. You don’t search for something that’s desolate. You, you don’t go looking for a group of people that are, that are destroyed. So if they’re sought out, they’re not that anymore. Are they they’ve become something new and a city for sacred or city, not for sake.

Excuse me. All right. We’re going to pick up on Wednesday. We were going to cover just a few, probably about five of these others, but I encourage you go through the rest of this list this week for Wednesday, fill in these blanks, fill in these holes and get a picture of this. God saying over and over and over in the old Testament,

prophets, I’m going to do this. I’m going to judge your enemies. I’m going to destroy them. So thoroughly it’s as if I wipe the entire face of the planet clean, and then I’m going to make something new. And a number of times you’re going to read new heavens and new earth or new Jerusalem and the picture over and over and over again in the profits is Jerusalem restored the way God wanted it to be.

And that’s the picture we’re going to get in revelation 21 and 22. We’ll talk about that more on Wednesday. Thank you.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Good morning. Good to see everybody here this morning. On the rainy day, we need a little rain from time to time, but anyway, it’s good to see everybody. If you a Vistor we’d appreciate it.

If you’d fill out a visitor’s card, so we’d have a record of your attendance and just lay it back there on the table. When you get through or lay it there on the seat, if you hadn’t picked up your Lord’s supper, it’s back there on the table, and that’d be a good time while we’re making announcements for you to do that. We need to remember our sick,

when our sick list at Jones or Dorothy Wilson, Janet Joan, Robbie woods, Laurie white, Jessica Dale, Sandy Trammell, and Terry and Patricia Wheatley and Gary Whaler. We announced last week that he was going to have to have surgery again. And they went in and he had had bypass surgery, but they found some stints that were a block and they had to put five stents in him.

So he is, he is back at home. Now I got a card from a lucky and bed, Lou, and thank from the bottom of your heart with a, with a floral arrangement, looking, I appreciate the thoughtfulness and more than you’ll ever know, maybe it won’t be too much longer though. They can be back with us. They’re staying at home because of the COVID threat.

And I will put the card back here on the bulletin board. That’s all of our announcements. Aaron is going to leave singing this morning. Eric Howelsen Has opening prayer. Jay Schaeffer has the Lord supper. Michael Darrell has the sermon and her Springer has the closing prayer. Thank you. Good morning. Take your som books and open them to number two.

We’ll make mention of this right now, in case I forget. Unlike some services where we have some songs in the songbook that aren’t on the slides this morning, we have a few songs on the slides that aren’t in the songbooks, but all the songs will be on the slides this morning. I hope. There we go. All right. I’m feeling better now.

Number two, we praise thee. Oh God, We Praysee. Oh God. For the song.<inaudible><inaudible> the glory. Hallelujah. Oh man.<inaudible> we praise<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Oh, glory and praise to the lamb. That was saying<inaudible> every saying hallelujah, glory. Hallelujah. Oh man.<inaudible> no glory.<inaudible> Oh, glory and praise to the God of all grace<inaudible> hallelujah.

Glory.<inaudible> and<inaudible><inaudible> Song. Before opening. Prayer will be number 827, 827. Sweet hour of prayer sing all three verses sweet<inaudible>. That calls me from<inaudible> besides me. My<inaudible> all my wants and wishes. No. In seasons of distress angry. My soul has often Foundry the and off this gave the<inaudible> sweet<inaudible> Hey son to a blaze<inaudible> is<inaudible>.<inaudible> wait for the sweet,

sweet<inaudible> to him whose truth and facts.<inaudible>. So to<inaudible> me see his face<inaudible> and trust his gray<inaudible> on him. My<inaudible> way for the sweet<inaudible> God, our father in heaven. We come to you at this time, thanking you for another opportunity to assemble here this morning, to sing songs, praise your great name, but most importantly,

study another portion of your word, Lord. I know we don’t mention it often enough, but there are those amongst our congregation here and in the world that have been improving from their elements. And we know it’s because of you in your love and care for each and every one of us. So we want to thank you at this time, for those that have shown some improvement.

And Lord also, we ask that you continue to reach out to those who are ailing, whether it’s from sickness or from recent losses in the family and give them the love and support that only you can so that they continue to have faith in you and know that you are truly in control of everything. And we thank you for that. As we prepare to hear another portion of your word,

we ask that you help brother Michael, have a ready recollection of what he is going to bring to us from your word. We ask that you help each and every one of us focus on the message that is brought to us here today, so that we can take it and analyze it, apply it to our lives, to make us better servants of yours here on earth,

that we may be your shining light to those that have either fallen away from your word or worse yet, have not had the opportunity to hear your word or have not listened to your word so that they may also have the same opportunity. We do that as opportunity to live with you forever in Eternity. When this earth is over, we bring these prayers to you at this time through your son,

Jesus name. Amen. This next song is one of those songs. It’s not in the book off. We come together. We’ll sing the song in preparation, prepare our minds for the Lord’s supper Off week.<inaudible> on this whole lead, eh,<inaudible><inaudible> to see may we all live in truth and<inaudible> the may week<inaudible><inaudible> to see may weigh all in truth and speak.<inaudible> the may we all<inaudible> take this.<inaudible> to see may we all live in truth and speak the,

As we come to this very special time in our let’s displace all the worldly thoughts from our minds and focus upon jesus’ death and what it means to us. I just pray heavenly father. We’re so grateful for the privilege we have to assemble about this table. Being part of your children. We’re grateful for the love that you’ve manifested toward us. And the fact that you have provided through your son a means for the perpetuation of our sins.

As we partake of this bread, help us to remember that it was his body that was sacrificed on that cruel cross. We ask all of these things in, through his name. We continue our Thanksgiving, heavenly father for this fruit of the vine, which represents his blood, that horses away our sins. As we partake of it, let us examine ourselves and find ourselves truly worthy of that sacrifice.

It’s in Jesus name. We pray. We find this a convenient time to offer prayer for our offerings. And let’s go once again to God and prayer, heavenly father were indeed grateful. The multitude of material blessings you is so richly bestowed upon our lives. We are indeed a blessed nation. We’re a blessed community, and we’re a blessed church. Help us to always remember that we are merely stewards of these blessings that we do not really deserve.

So any of the things that are given to us through, through you, We ask that you accept our prayers on our Thanksgiving for this in Jesus name that we pray. Amen. Imitation song is not in your song book, but it will be on the overhead. And it is come to the feast. If you would turn to number 467, if you are following the book,

467, let’s sing this song for a brother. Michael comes and preaches to us 467, better turn to the right page, or I’m going to leave the wrong song. Sing all three verses Will your rank hold in the storms of life. When the clouds on full wings of straw life, when those strong times lift and cables strain<inaudible> we have an Inca that keeps us so steadfast.<inaudible> fastened to the rock,

which<inaudible> rounded from Andy in the same<inaudible><inaudible> and cables fast from his heart to mind.<inaudible> so<inaudible> and<inaudible> when the breakers I’ve told<inaudible> though, the 10 best rage and the wild winds blow angry wave<inaudible> fastened to the wrong<inaudible> Andy<inaudible><inaudible> when the water’s cold, too low, late is on the rising tide.<inaudible> pass into the rock,

which can move around it from Andy<inaudible> when our eyes be Oh, through the guy,<inaudible> where those storms all pass for<inaudible> or<inaudible> keeps. So<inaudible> pass into the rock.<inaudible> Good morning. My brothers and sisters in Christ. I haven’t, I haven’t said this for a little while, but I want to let you know how important your congregation is to our family,

your love and your support and everything that you do really encourages us and helps us to make it through these exasperating tests and things that we have in school. But it’s a blessing to be able to get up here and preach to you. God’s word, and, and know that that you’re listening this morning. I want to speak about trusting in God’s promises.

Let’s read from Hebrews six, 13 through 20. Our main texts will be taken from Hebrews chapter six, and we’ll read verses 13 through 20 for when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater. He swear by himself saying surely blessing. I will bless thee and multiplying. I will multiply thee. And so after he had patiently endured,

he obtained the promise for men barely swear by the greater and an oath for confirmation is to them. An end of all, strife wherein God willing, more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise. The immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath that by two immutable things in which it is, it was impossible for God to lie. We might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay,

hold upon the hope set before us, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure. And steadfast. And which entrust into that within the veil, whether the 4runner is for us entered, even Jesus made in high priest forever. After the order of milk has a deck as Christians, we have a steadfast hope. If we trust in the promises of God and life,

there may have been many promises that we have received, but relatively few of them can be relied upon to be kept. We are sometimes given the promise of an acquaintance to be paid back alone, that we have given them. And if that promise does not come to fruition, then we must learn to deal with the consequences and either no longer have that acquaintance or forgive them of the debt that they owe us.

Some of us may have been given the promise of a loved one to come back from war only to have tragedy strike. And we must learn how to handle the pain of that broken promise. Sometimes we must even learn to deal with a broken promise from a parent because they’re just not capable of keeping said promise due to some unforeseen situation. And we have to work through that broken promise and push forward because we can,

with God, we can always trust that his promises will be kept every single time. And as Christians, this gives us a hope that is sure and steadfast through the inspired word we can trust in God’s promises because God keeps the promises that he makes God cannot lie. And God gives us hope. Let us consider a few examples in scripture that proved to us that God keeps the promises he made.

He makes, but first we must understand what a promise is. The word promise in the Greek is upon glow, which according to Strong’s dictionary is to pledge to do something or to assert something respecting oneself. The word promise, according to the world and dictionary.com means to assure someone that one will definitely do give or arrange something or undertake or declare that something will happen.

So a promise from God is something, excuse me, that we can be assured will definitely happen because there being no greater, he swore it by himself. Let’s read again, verse 13 of Hebrews, chapter six for when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater. He swore by himself and then go down to verse 16 for men verily swear by the greater and an oath for confirmation is to them.

An end of all, strife wherein God willing, more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise. The immutability of his counsel confirmed it by his oath. We can read that God has the ability to fulfill his promises everywhere in the scripture, but God’s word accomplishes what he pleases. We can see an Isaiah chapter 55 in verse 11, turn with me to Isaiah chapter 55 and verse 11.

So shall my word be that go with forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that, which I please, and it shall prosper. And the thing where on two, I sent it whenever God uses his voice to make a promise, it’s going to happen. It’s going to prosper wherever he sends his word.

Abraham had faith that God could deliver on his promises. Turn with me to Romans chapter four, Romans chapter four, and we’ll read verses six verses 16 through 21, Romans four 16 through 21. Therefore it is a faith that it might be by grace to the end. The promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only, which is of the law,

but to that also, which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations before him, whom he believed even God who quickened at the dead and call it those things, which be not as though they were who against hope, believed in hope that he might become the father of many nations,

according to that, which was spoken. So shall thy seed be and being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead when he was about and hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. He did not waver on this promise, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully persuaded,

that what he had promised, he was able to perform amazing faith, that we all should have to know that whatever the Lord has promised us, it’s going to come to fruition. It’s going to come to fruition. Now let us consider some of the examples of God’s. Another example of God, keeping his promise. Joshua explained that all God’s promises were fulfilled.

Turn with me to Joshua chapter 21, the book of Joshua chapter 21. And we’ll read verse 45 and very last verse Air failed, not out of any good thing, which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel all came to pass all of it again, Joshua pronounced that not one thing God promised had failed, not a single thing. Joshua chapter 23,

just a couple of chapters over in verses 14 and 15, Joshua 23, 14 and 15 And B, hold this Stay. I am going the way of all the earth and you know, in your hearts and in your souls, that not one thing I failed of all the good things, which the Lord, your God speak concerning. You all are come to pass on to you.

And not one thing has failed thereof. Therefore it shall come to pass that as all good things are, come upon you, which the Lord, your God promised you. So shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things until he have destroyed you from off this good land, which the Lord your God has given you the Lord’s promises, swings both ways.

Doesn’t it. He promises to do good and you’ll get good. But if he promises to do bad, you better be careful not one promise God gave through Moses failed. Either. An example of this is found in first Kings chapter eight and verse 56, first Kings chapter eight and verse 56, blessed be the Lord that have given rest unto his people.

Israel, according to all that, he promised there have not failed. One word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses, his servant, no promises the Lord ever gives do not come true. They always come true. And having an understanding that God has the ability to fulfill his promise and reading of some of the accounts where his promises were fulfilled.

We must also understand that God cannot lie. It is impossible. We can read that God is not a liar on several accounts because lying is impossible for God. Hebrews chapter six, let’s go back to our main text, Hebrews chapter six, and we’ll read verse 18. He retracted her six verse 18 that by two immutable things, that’s his promise in his oath in which it was impossible for God to lie.

We might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay, hold upon the hope set before us. God is not a man like us. And though, therefore he cannot lie. Let me see this in numbers. Chapter 23 and verse 19 numbers, 2319, God is not a man that he should lie. Neither. The son of man that he should repent hath.

He said, and shall he not do it? Or has he spoken? And shall he not make it good when God speaks, it’s going to happen? He’s not like us. We can say something. And through certain circumstances, it doesn’t come to fruition. But God, when he says something it’s going to happen every single time, Paul proclaimed that God could not lie through the inspiration of the Holy spirit in Titus chapter one verses one and two Titus chapter one verses one and two.

Okay. Paul, a servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness and hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie promised before the world began. We have that hope of eternal life because God can not lie. And he promised it to us to comp to comprehend how it is that God cannot lie.

All one needs to look at is God’s inner character, his character, who he is first God is light first, John one five first John chapter one, verse five. Then this is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. Another character of God, every good and perfect gift is from him.

For James chapter one in verse 17, James chapter one, verse 17, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variableness neither shadow of turning. He does not vary in what he says. Everything he gives is perfect. Everything including his promise God’s way is perfect. Another great character of God,

Psalm 18 and verse 30, the 18th Psalm in verse 30 As for God, his way is perfect. The word of the Lord is tried. He is a buckler to all those that trust him. God is also just Psalm 50 and verse six, three to this, the 50th Psalm and verse six, and the heaven shall declare his righteousness for God is judge himself.

So the law, he is a just God, God is also merciful. That’s how we know he cannot lie. Romans chapter six and verse 23. Turn with me to Romans chapter six in verse 23, a well-known verse to many but not so well known to all for the wages of sin is death. Wouldn’t it be sad if it just stopped right there for the wages of sin is death,

but it doesn’t because in God’s mercy, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Our Lord one in the amazing mercy we have through Christ through God in our sin, we could be lost in our sin. He doesn’t owe us anything, but through his great character, he gives us mercy. God is also love. First John chapter four verses seven through nine first John chapter four verses seven through nine beloved.

Let us love one another for love is of God and everyone that loveth is born of God and know with God he that loveth not no with not God for God is love. And this was manifested the love of God toward us because that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. God is also all powerful turn with me to job.

Chapter 12, verses seven through 10 job, chapter 12, verses seven through 10. Okay? But as now the bees and they shall teach thee and the fowls of the air and they shall tell thee or speak to the earth and it shall teach thee. And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee who know with not, and all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this.

And whose hand is the soul of every living thing and the breadth of all man kind. God is amazingly powerful. And this shows his character. God is righteous, Isaiah 41 and verse 10, Isaiah chapter 41 and verse 10 fear. Doubt not for, I am with him. Be not dismayed for, I am thy God, I will strengthen the yea.

I will help the yea. I will uphold the, with the right hand of my righteousness. God cannot lie because he is righteous. And most importantly, God cannot lie because he is infinitely. Holy first, Peter chapter one verses 15 and 16, read with me first, Peter chapter one verses 15 and 16. But as he, which has called you is Holy.

So be ye Holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written. Be ye Holy for, I am Holy. Our father is Holy and in him, there is no darkness. That is something we can look to to know that he can not lie less. His promises will always be fulfilled. And now that we know that God keeps his promises and that he cannot lie to us because it is not in him to lie.

It is impossible for him to lie. We can know that the oath of his promise as an anchor to the soul, thus God gives us hope. God’s faithfulness is our Sharon’s. God is faithful. If we follow his commandments, if there is, there is something there. If we follow his commandments, Deuteronomy chapter seven in verse nine, Deuteronomy chapter seven and verse nine,

know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth, covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations. God is faithful to us in our temptation. We can rely on him for that first Corinthians chapter 10 verses 12 and 13 first Corinthians chapter 10, verses 12 and 13 wherefore.

Let him that think as he standed take heed, lest he fall there. APH, no temptation you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that. Ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that she may be able to bear it. And because of this,

God is faithful to guard us against the evil one. Turn with me to second Thessalonians, chapter three in verse three second, Thessalonians chapter three and verse three again, but the Lord is faithful who shall establish you and keep you from evil. We can rely on God because of his faithfulness. God is faithful and he is just first John chapter one, verse nine first John chapter one and verse nine.

If we confess our sins, he, God is faithful. And just to forgive us, our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, God is faithful to everyone, to you, to me, to everyone in the world, Psalm one 19 and verse 90 turn with me to the 119th Psalm and verse 90. I faithfulness is unto all generations, thou hast established the earth and it abideth.

He’s faithful to everyone. And he is faithful forever. Just a couple of chapters back in Psalm, Psalm chapter 117, verse two for his merciful. Kindness is great toward us and the truth of the Lord. And<inaudible> forever. Praysee the Lord. We know that God is faithful because Jesus is the proof of his faithfulness. Romans chapter five in verse eight,

Romans chapter five and verse eight. Yeah, God, commendeth his love toward us. And that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, he still keeps his promise. He looks down on all of us as his children. And even though we were sinners, he kept his promise and sent the savior for us because of God’s faithfulness.

We have a hope that is both sure. And steadfast. Our hope is an anchor of the soul. Turn with me back to our original text in Hebrews chapter six. And we’ll look at verse 19, Hebrews six 19, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, both sure. And steadfast as our hope. Our hope is a hope that goes into heaven itself beyond the veil,

because Jesus has Pierce that veil for us continue reading in verse 19. Let’s just read the whole verse again, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure. And steadfast, and which entering into that within the veil, Jesus says Pierce that veil. We don’t have to have a high priest for us to go before God anymore. Now we have an open door to God through Jesus.

Our hope is a hope built upon a foundation of Jesus’s priesthood. Read with me right down verse 20 and Hebrews chapter six, whether the former owner four runner is for us entered. Even Jesus made in high priest forever. After the order of milk has a deck, we can read of this coming and know that it came to fruition in Psalm chapter 110,

the entirety of Psalm chapter 110 Psalm chapter 110. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit down at my right hand until I make mine enemies. A footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion rule vow in the midst of dine enemies. My people shall be willing in the day of thy power in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning,

thou has the do of the youth. And here’s, here’s the main verse here. The Lord has sworn and will not repent thou art, a priest forever. After the order of milk has a deck. Our hope is in the appearing of Christ. This is where our hope comes from Titus chapter two, verses 11 through 14, Titus chapter two verses 11 through 14 for the grace of God,

that brings salvation. Hath appeared to all men, teaching us denying ungodliness and worldly lust. We should live. So Burley, righteously, and godly in this present world. Lucky for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify on to himself.

A peculiar people, zealous of goods. Good works. The fruition of God’s promise. Jesus came for us as Christians. We have a steadfast hope. If we trust in the promises of God, I mean, what is a relationship without trust? It’s not really a relationship at all. God. He has shown us in his word that he is faithful and steadfast in his promises time and time again,

it just read the entirety of the book. Every single page you can see God is fulfilling his promises in life. We are sometimes confronted with tragedies, troubles and disappointments. And through these experiences, we are to continue to hold tight to the Lord. It is through these experiences that we are able to show God just how much we truly trust him. We can do this because we know God is the God.

And he keeps his promises. You know that God will keep his promises because it, because it is not in his nature to lie, it is impossible because God keeps his promises. He gives us a hope of our salvation. I want to leave you with a verse from one of my favorite hymns, standing on the promises, standing on the promises that cannot fail when the howling storms of doubt and fear of sale by the living word of God,

I shall prevail standing on the promises of God, standing, standing, standing on the promises of God, my savior standing, standing. I am standing on the promises of God. There’s one promise that we can be sure of. And that is if we do, as God commands, we have the hope of eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Amen. In order to enjoy the blessed promise of eternal life, we must first heed the commandment to hear his word and not just here, but here with an understanding to bring us to faith, Romans 10, 17, to be honest of his blessed promise and not die in our sins. We must also, I believe that Jesus is the Christ. The son of the living God,

John eight 24, the promise of eternal life is within our reach. If we obey the command of the father to repent and return to him as his child acts 1730, yet another simple command we are to obey is to ensure we receive the promise of eternal life is the confession of Jesus says the Christ, the son of the living God before all men,

Matthew 10 32, another easy command to enjoy eternal life is to be immersed for the forgiveness of our sins. Acts 2216. And the final command though. It is hard. Sometimes it may seem hard, but it is not grievous. And that is to stay faithful to the Lord until your earthly life has ended. And then we can receive our crown of righteousness in heaven.

First, John one, six and seven in revelation, two 10. If you have yet to hear God’s blessed to commands, the water of baptism are ready for you. Come share in the true promise with us and God’s promise in Christ. Or if you have faltered in your belief of God’s promise and need the prayers of the saints. We are here for you.

Remember the fervent prayer of a righteous man avail as much, James, five 16, whatever you need, please come forward. As we stand in scene,<inaudible> all things are ready. Come to the<inaudible><inaudible> Oh, things are ready.<inaudible> wow. He ways to welcome the<inaudible> all things are ready. Come to the<inaudible><inaudible> God,<inaudible> he?

The<inaudible> Michael. We appreciate that lesson and appreciate it every time that you’re able to come before us and preach. I don’t think I’m the only one who, who recognizes this, but Michael’s come a long way from the very first lessons that he gave you. You, we see this over and over again, and it’s easier for us to see it,

that it is for the person who’s going through it to see it. But every time we have a student, we see them come in and say same with Eric. When he was here, the, the presentation abilities that he had when he got here and the presentation abilities that he had when he left were very much not like each other, but it’s good to see that growth,

not only in content, but also in delivery over time, that happens with the students. Take your songbooks. If you will, and turn the number 452 will be on the slides as well. We’re going to sing the first and last verses of standing on the promises. And then we’ll be led in our closing prayer. Appreciate all of our visitors for being here,

encourage you to be back on Wednesday night and mindful, especially of those who are online or, or on the phone And her listening from afar. We want you to know, we love you. And we miss you 452 standing on the promises first and last verses. And then brother Murray will lead us in our closing prayer, standing on the problem. This is<inaudible> glory.

And a high is I will shout Dan saying, standing on the promise is I’ve gone.<inaudible> standing on the promises of God.<inaudible>, I’m standing on the promises of God. Standing on the problem is I can, ah, all listening.<inaudible> all standing on. The promise is<inaudible> standing on the promises of God.<inaudible>, I’m standing on the promises of God With me fleet our God and our father in heaven.

We’re thankful for this opportunity that has been ours to assemble ourselves together as the church and to worship the father in spirit and in truth. We’re thankful for the message that we heard today, help us to keep it in our hearts father, that we might not sin against thee. We ask that you would continue to give us our sins. As we repent of them,

we ask that you would be with us and help us to get through this pandemic, asked you to be with the whole world father. And if it’d be that, we’ll take this thing away, give us healing and recovery from it. We asked did you would be with those who are sick father, not able to be with us. We asked that you would touch him with your heating hand and restore them back to their house.

These many blessings. And we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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11-18-2020 Revelation 20 Part 2 (class)

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams, Revelation by Aaron Cozort

<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Good evening.<inaudible> Do you think I look bad? You should see the other guy. Yeah. Right.<inaudible> We are in revelation, chapter 20, for those who are listening by phone. My, my left hand is all wrapped up because the doctor decided to pull the pins out of my wrist today. So that was a fun,

you can do almost anything. If you put enough light to Canaan in your body. So let’s begin with a word of prayer and then we’ll get started gracious father in heaven. We bow before you grateful for the day that you’ve given to us grateful for the life that you’ve blessed us with grateful for the energy and the opportunity that we have to assemble together and mindful of those who are unable to be present with us.

We pray that you will be with those who are dealing with COVID right now, and those who are still recovering and especially those who have had it months ago and are still struggling with the symptoms of this disease. That is, is so very hard to deal with for some pray that you be with the Whitley family and that pray that they fully recover. And we pray that you be with all those missionaries throughout the world who are striving to get back to the mission field.

And we pray that their labors will be able to continue and be able to prosper again, as they go into mission fields throughout the world, we pray that you be with us as we go through this period of study, may the things that we do and the things that we say, the things that we study, be those things, which draw us closer to you.

And may we strive fervently to always proclaim the truth as your word has declared it to us, ask that you forgive us when we sin and fall short of your glory, all this, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Okay. So on Sunday we began in chapter 19, verse 17. We noticed the end of that chapter at the end of that chapter,

what is going on?<inaudible> All right. The beast is defeated who goes with him? False prophet. Okay. Which as we mentioned before is in the previous chapter where the beasts are introduced that’s the other beast. Okay. There were two beasts. One was the, the beast that really does the persecuting and the other is the false prophet that convinces the,

the world to, to worship the first beast. Okay. So the false prophet and the beast are defeated. What happens to the armies that are with them? All right. They’re killed with the sword of the mouth of the one who’s riding on the white horse and they’re devoured by the birds of heaven. So then we get into chapter 20 and we see at the beginning of chapter 20 and,

and there’s really no, no value in a chapter break here, but Haftar seeing the defeat of the army and then the defeat of the beast and the, the false prophet. Then we see he an angel descend from heaven, and he’s got a great chain and he’s got the key to the bottomless pit. And he takes the dragon who is who the devil Satan.

Alright, binds him and puts him in the bottomless pit for how long thousand years. Okay. Now, as we kind of go through just a few of the questions here at the beginning of, of our sheet, since we covered these on Sundays of these aspects of the vision, which is literal a, the key B the bottomless pit, see the chain D the dragon II Satan,

or F the thousand years, Satan. All right, because that’s the explanation, the explanatory part of the entire verse. That’s the part where John’s in trouble printing the picture. Okay. He says the dragon dragons, not a literal dragon, but then he interprets the picture of the dragon for you, which is the devil Satan. Satan’s a literal big,

but the Dragon’s not a literal dragon. Okay. So the owner part of, of all of that, it carries with it real truth. It carries with it what God is saying about his victory over Rome as the instrument of Satan. Okay. But it’s not a literal dragon bound by a literal chain cast into a literal bottomless pit. That’s unlocked with the literal key where he’s there for a literal thousand years.

Now, we only go through all of that to say the literal thousand years for a pre millennialist is incredibly important. They can get along with all the rest of that being figurative, except the thousand years, as soon as the thousand years, isn’t literal their whole doctrine falls apart. Okay. But that, this isn’t the only place that, that true.

We’re going to see that later on in chapter 20 as well. Okay. So we cast him into the bottomless pit. Let me, let me make one other statement go all the way back into chapter 19 is the great day of, of battle between the forces of Jesus Christ and his Christians on white horses and the beast and the false prophet and the dragon and their servants is that day of battle battle a literal day of battle either.

No. Okay. W we’re not just getting to this passage and then saying, Hey, it’s not literal. We’ve been saying all along, look at the picture, interpret the, meaning, the truth, truth in the picture and understand what John is conveying, or the spirit is conveying through John. Okay. You’re trying to be consistent in our interpretation all the way through that is to say,

it’s apocalyptic literature. You’re supposed to see the picture and not assume that the picture is what happened. You’re supposed to see the picture and say, what is it mean? Okay. And we’re going to do that all the way through, but there are times in the midst of it where God, the Holy spirit John say, and here’s the literal meaning in that case,

the dragon literal meaning is Satan for clarity. God makes it clear. That’s who he’s talking about. Okay. So cast him into the bottomless pit verse three, shut him up and set a seal on him so that he should do deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things, he must be released for a little while.

So we’ll come to this passage and say, the thousand years is the Christian dispensation, the Christian era. Well, there’s a problem with that. If you interpret the thousand years to not be literal, but to be the Christian dispensation, the time of the church, then you have, according to the anniversary a little time after the Christian era is over,

read it again. But after these things, well, what things the thousand years he’s just stated. So if you interpret the thousand years to be the Christian era, then after the Christian era, there’s going to be a little time that doesn’t, that doesn’t work. There’s no other passage in the new Testament that tells us anything about that. That Jesus is going to come back.

Dave, judgment’s going to come. And, and time shall be no more. There’s not a little time after the Christian era for Satan to come back out of the bottomless pit. So it’s not that either the thousand years, isn’t the Christian era and it’s not a thousand years, we’re going to be down to just a couple of things that can be actually really going to be down to just one thing.

It can’t be when we’re all said and done, but the bee or sorry, the dragon goes into the bottomless pit. But after these things, he must be released for a while. It’s going to be significant to note, we’re going to read about this again, but you’re going to see the dragon go in, but the picture coming out, isn’t the dragon anymore.

It’s Satan. Okay. Dragon. The dragon that we were introduced earlier had what? At physical attributes, he was red. How many heads? Seven heads, 10 horns crowns on his head. The dragon goes in the bottom of the pit and never comes back out because the dragon is a picture of Rome. Rome never comes back. When God defeats the nation of Rome and God takes the,

the kingdom that Daniel prophesized that’s going to be made without hands as a mountain created without hands and decimates. The four kingdoms that came before it Rome being the fourth and final, Rome’s never coming back. The, the prophecy in Daniel describes the mountain, grinding those nations in the powder. They’re never coming back. The dragon picture never comes back because the dragons have picture of Satan using Rome.

Okay. We are going to get a different picture later on in this chapter, but it comes from a completely different thing. We’re going to get a picture of Satan using Gog. And may God we’ll get into that in a little bit. Okay. So dragon never comes back. This is the last, this is the last year here of dragon. Satan comes back.

Okay. And I saw Thrones and they sat on them and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus. And for the word of God who had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his Mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they live and reign with Christ for a thousand years.

Okay. So John sees the angel come take the dragon, chain him up, put him in the bottomless pit. And he’s there for a thousand years. The next picture. Okay. Just again, think of this, like a picture book. You just turn the page, the next picture. The next truth conveyed by the Holy spirit is John now sees Thrones,

vast number of Thrones, and who’s on the Thrones. All right. Martyrs In this next picture, there’s going to be the first resurrection. Okay. We call it the first resurrection because John does, because there’s going to be a second resurrection later on in this first resurrection, you only have the resurrection of those who were killed for the testimony of Christ by the beast.

Okay? Those are the only people who take part in this first resurrection, this isn’t every righteous soul who’s ever lived. This is the ones who sit on the throne for a thousand years with Christ. And they reign for a thousand years with Christ. They rein as victors over the beast. They reign as victors over the dragon. They reign is Victor’s over the forces and the armies of the beast and the dragon.

They are reigning with Christ for a thousand years. They’re raining for the same period of time that the Dragon’s defeated for, or that Satan’s defeated for. Okay. Go back to chapter 18, chapter 18, verse 20 rejoice over her. Oh, heavens and you, Holy apostles and prophets for God has avenged you on her. The, the judgment on the great city on Rome,

the judgment on this nation is calm. And God says, this is a judgment of vengeance on you. You win is the declaration, but then go to verse 24. And in her was found the blood of profits and saints, and of all who were slain off earth. Here’s the accusation against Rome. She’s guilty of murdering God’s people, but God’s people don’t stay dead.

God’s people aren’t sitting in the grave. God’s people aren’t resting. They’re reigning on Thrones, according to what John sees. Okay. So those who died at Rome’s hand are raining as victors over Rome with the Christ. Notice what we read further on in verse four, they lived and reign with Christ for a thousand years, but the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.

This isn’t a, this isn’t a worldwide resurrection. This is a resurrection of a specific group of people. Those who were killed by Rome. Okay? And then we read, this is the first resurrection. Now there’s a couple of key things we need to key in on here. Number one, these martyrs are reigning. Who are they reigning with? Christ?

Is there any place in this passage that States that Christ only rains for a thousand years? Okay. It’s important to notice what stated the picture is the martyrs reign with Christ. The time descriptor is a time descriptor of their reign, not his. You never have anywhere in the book of revelation, a description of Christ reigning for a thousand years. An example of this is a,

I think it’s a house we reread in the old Testament that a has Cole rained with Joe thumb for, I think it’s 17 years, 18 years. They were reigning at the same time. But the text says that EY has rained with Joe thumb for 17 years. But it doesn’t say that Joseph only rained for 17 years. He reigned with a has simultaneously for 17 years,

but that’s not a description of Joe thumb’s rain at all. Jonathan rained much further beyond that point. This is important because again, the pre-millennial has come to this passage and say, Jesus Christ reigns in Jerusalem for a thousand years now. No, that’s not in the text. There’s no description of Christ only reigning for a thousand years. Even if you take the years to be literal,

there’s no description of Christ reign as temporary. This is a picture of the Christians being victorious over the dragon and for Anne and Satan and for as long as Satan is, is in judgment. They’re in victory. Okay? So we’re not dealing with the literal thousand years, but we’re also, again, we’re trying to pick out few things that some false doctrines exist around to say,

Oh look, Christ reigns with no, no, no, no. There’s no, there’s nothing in this text about the reign of Christ being a thousand years, not anywhere in here, bless it in Holy verse six is he who has part in the first resurrection over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him for a thousand years.

Okay. So here, you’ve got a picture of completeness. The, the, the term 1000 we’ve, we’ve seen it multiple times. Matter of fact, in question number two, you’re going to see all the different passages where either the term a thousand or a multiple of a thousand is used to describe one idea all the way through the book. And it’s always completeness.

It is always completeness to perfection. Satan is defeated in his use of Rome as a tool against God’s people. And he has come. He is defeated entirely, completely, nothing left God deals with him, completely the Christians rain, because you go back to the beginning, chapters two and three, and Christ tells the churches. If you will, if you will be faithful,

you will receive what a crown of righteousness. You will reign with me. Okay? So the promise Jesus makes it the beginning of the book is the picture at the end of the book, you were faithful, even though you died, but you didn’t stay dead. You were resurrected. And you reigned with me. You were victorious, even though it looked like you were defeated.

Okay. That’s the picture in this, the second picture. So the first picture is Satan completely defeated. Thousand-year defeat the Christian’s completely victorious. Thousand-year victory. Okay. Now verse seven. Here’s the third picture in chapter 20. Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released his prison. Wait a minute. Who went in the dragon who comes out?

Satan? Not it’s not the dragon anymore. Okay. Rome’s done. Rome’s never coming back back, but we’ve got a new picture because just because God defeats Satan’s use of Rome doesn’t mean that Satan’s never going to attack the church. Again. It doesn’t mean that Satan’s going to in, in some way disappear and never, never tempt, never persecute the church.

But notice the clarity on the picture, the defeat of Satan in his instrument of Rome is so complete that God pictures it as though Satan has to wait a thousand years before he can attack the church again. Now we’re not, we’re not saying, and nor should we from this text that there’s a thousand year gap before state never tries to do anything to the church again.

Oh, that’s not. What’s here. You’re dealing with a picture, a picture of completeness. God says, here’s the defeat of Satan’s use of Rome. And Rome never gets to cut short that defeat Satan, doesn’t get to overcome that defeat. Satan. Doesn’t get to cut short that defeat and come back after 500 years. No, the picture is completeness.

So that picture of a thousand years ends, but Satan’s not done, but the message is this. Okay? So here’s what we see. We see Satan come back, but what’s the message. The message is God’s saying, and the next time he comes back, I’m going to defeat him again. Okay. Watch this. Now when the thousand years of expired,

Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations. Now, what was he with the beast this evening, the nations. He goes right back to his old, his old actions. Okay. It goes right back to his old process. He goes out to deceive the nations, which are in the four corners of the earth.

Now here’s a change. Now. It’s not. He goes for the beast, the one nation Rome. Now he’s just got to, he just goes for everybody. But notice the picture. Now this is going to come from a Z keel, 37 and 38, no, 38 and 39 37 is, is another, another vision. Okay? So this comes directly from Ezekiel.

Ezekiel tells us about God and may God. It’s a picture. Even in as equals day, it’s a picture of the, the epitome of an army. The, the, the calculations, if you go through and do them of, of what is equal describes is, is 600 plus million soldiers. Okay? The apitomy of the whole world turning against God’s people.

Okay? That’s the picture of Gaga. May God. So Satan goes out. He deceives the nations and he comes with the old Testament picture of all the armies of the world, banding together to defeat someone. So Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations, which are in the four corners of the earth Gog. And Magog to gather them together to battle whose number is as the sand of the sea.

So in numerable they can’t be numbered. Okay? So this, this army comes against God’s people before it was the beast of a false prophet and his army and Rome, and the nations that followed Rome, and that God defeated them. Now, Satan goes out again and he gets all the nations of the world to fight against the church. And what happens.

They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. That’s by the way, the new Jerusalem we’ll read about that in a minute. The beloved city and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. So Rome’s defeated the dragons defeated. The beast is defeated. The false prophets defeated Satan gets released after God’s complete defeat of him.

And what does he go about to do again, the same thing. And God’s telling the church, don’t worry, anytime in the future, when he does it again, I’m going to do the same thing. Like I defeated him before. I’ll defeat him every time. This is the truth. Given here in chapter 20 verses seven through 10 is the devil never wins.

The devil never stops trying, but the devil never wins. Verse 10, the devil who deceived them was cast into the Lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night, forever. And ever now just like Isaiah chapter 34, this judgment, isn’t the final judgment. We said back in chapter 19,

that the defeat of the beast and the false prophet, isn’t the final judgment. It’s not the judgment day. This isn’t the final time Satan’s defeated. This is God saying when he comes back and tries it again, I’m going to do to him again, what I did to him last time. And I’m going to keep doing it to him until he learns,

which is never unfortunately, with Satan, when, until he learns that he’s never going to win, but he’s always going to try. Okay. So Satan goes in to the Lake of fire, the picture from the old Testament of that’s. Cause I wasn’t talking to you. So be quiet. All right. So the devil’s defeated again. That’s the picture of verses seven through 10 verse 11.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. This isn’t new imagery. This is old Testament imagery. God comes forth as glory at nothing stands before it. But remember this, what did gone? You go back to the plagues, go back to the trumpets and the bowls.

Okay. Based upon the imagery of the trumpet and the bowls, what did God do to the entire world and the trumpets? He destroyed how much a third of it over and over and over again. He destroyed the waters. A third of them. He destroyed the, the fresh water, a third of it. He destroyed the plant life. A third of it.

He destroyed the grass. A third of it. He did all of these things. God’s decimated in the picture, the world of the ungodly. Then the bowls come along and everything he did partially in the trumpets. He does completely. So the picture of the world is a picture of destruction, nothing left. Imagine if 40 days after the flood, all the waters just disappeared and the boat landed and Noah walked off.

What would he have walked off to? Nothing, nothing. I mean, go, go, go visit anywhere. That’s just had a massive flood go through and go visit the part that got flooded. Nothing, picture that being the earth. And God’s saying, here’s what I’ve done to the world of the ungodly. And now here comes the glory of the Lord and that world gets wiped out of the picture.

Okay. This isn’t the literal heavens and earth fleeing away. The end of the literal world. This is God saying done with that picture done with that old world done with all that I destroyed. Here’s the new one. Okay. The new heavens and the new earth in revelation are not heaven and eternity. And they’re not a remade world in a literal sense because the world didn’t get destroyed in a literal sense.

God doesn’t have to remake what he never destroyed. He destroyed it in the vision and restored it in the vision as a whole new world. Okay? So let’s, let’s stay with this. Saw a great white throne from him who sat on it from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead small and great standing before God and books were opened.

And another book was open, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things that were written in the books. Now, what did God tell the churches would happen to them? When all this was over, they would be judged how, according to Gordon of the words, they spoke, according to their works,

okay, this is God saying your actions have consequences. I’m going to judge you. But notice the first resurrection that we saw earlier in the chapter was only who the martyrs, this resurrection isn’t separated by time. This says this resurrection, isn’t one that comes on the judgment day. This resurrection is everybody else who was involved in the vision. Okay? But they are,

they were re arise and they’re judged based upon whose name is written in the book of life. But again, by the way, the idea of the book of life, the books being opened and judging happening, isn’t a new Testament picture. It’s an old Testament picture. So God says, here you go. I’m judging the nations and I’m going to judge them based upon what they do.

Okay. The sea gave up the dead. Where did the beast come out of? You remember the sea? All right. So the place that originated Rome, I’m going to judge him. The sea gave up the dead who were in it and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged each one, according to his works.

Now somebody says, well, wait a minute. If death and Hades are judged, that’s gotta be the final judgment. Doesn’t it go back to chapter six, Chapter six, verse seven. When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, come and see. So I looked and behold a pale horse, and the name of him who sat on it was Death and who followed hell Hades and Hades followed with him and power was given them over a fourth of the earth to kill with a sword,

with hunger, with death and by the beasts of the earth. And what pear got judged over here in chapter 20, verse 13, this same pair you saw over in the fourth seal, death and Hades. So wait a minute. Death and Hades the four seal that’s that’s death raining from, from that time all the way until the judgment day. No,

we’ve got a picture of death and Hades. They’re given power, they’re raining, they’re killing. And God says, and everything that they have power to do, I’m going to judge, okay. This, by the way, think this is actually worth noting. When did Christ defeat death On judgment day, Day was resurrected. He defeated death. This defeated already.

So how is it? The death is raining and bringing about death. It among humanity over here in revelation. It’s because it’s a picture. I’m not saying we don’t die anymore. I’m saying the power of death is gone because the power of death, according to first Corinthians chapter 15 is sin. And when sins wiped away, what has no more power death?

So here in the picture, we have the defeat first and foremost of Satan and his use of Rome. He is defeated completely. Then in the picture, we have the victory of the saints and their victory and reigning with Christ is as complete as Satan’s destruction is his loss. Then Satan comes back up and he does it again. And God says to the Christians,

don’t worry. The next time he comes up and does it again, I’m going to defeat him as a surely, as I did this time. And then we get a picture of God judging everything else and everyone else that was involved in the revelation, okay? All the dead, all those who had died, all those who didn’t, weren’t resurrected in the first resurrection,

but the only people resurrected in the first resurrection were who the martyrs. So everyone else gets resurrected in the second resurrection, but what do they have happened to them? They’re cast in the Lake of fire, same place. The beast was same place. False prophet was they’re judged, just like the beast and the false and Satan. Okay. Then verse 14,

then death and Hades were cast in the Lake of fire. This is the second death. Here’s the picture. God’s people. They die physically. They’re killed by the they’re killed by Satan. They’re killed by God. They’re killed by mega doesn’t matter who they’re killed by there they’re killed because of persecution. And when they Results correct, they’re never dying again.

But the servants of the beast and the beast and the false prophet, and those who worship the beast and Satan, they die. And they get resurrected just to die again, because they’re not written in the book of life. So they just get judged. They don’t have hope waiting when their life is over. They have judgment waiting when their life is over.

Okay. Verse 15 and anyone not found written in the book of life. Five was cast into the Lake of fire. Okay? So how’s chapter 20. It’s four pictures. First one is the Dragon’s gone and he’s never coming back. Satan will be back. Second one is the martyrs who died, promised in revelation chapter two, verse 10, that if you will be faithful until death,

you’ll receive a crown of life. And that’s exactly what happens. Yeah. And the third picture is Satan comes back. He tries it all over and he loses again. And the fourth picture is God judges. And when he judges, Satan cannot defeat him and God, and the people can avoid judgment because their name isn’t written where the book of life,

okay. Those are the pictures of chapter 20. That’s what we see. That’s what we’re supposed to get out of it. Okay. Now, for a lot of people, they’ve heard their entire lives. Here’s the picture of the journey judgment day. It’s not, you want the picture of the judgment day, go over to Matthew and read about Christ,

separating out the Rams from the sheep. And that’s the picture of judging, right? How do I know? Because that’s what Jesus said. It was, it doesn’t ever say it is here. And now thing in the vision tells you, it is what it tells you is all these pictures we’ve gotten all the way through. Here’s God dealing with every single one of them and God dealing with them as a judge who is just now chapter 21.

That’s where people start going, Aaron, you’ve lost your mind, but here’s what we gotta be careful of. Just the same way we encourage people and inform people. You can’t go through a vision in revelation and pick and choose what you want to be literal. Here’s the reason why chapter 20 verses 11 through 15, isn’t literal. One more reason. Let’s do this.

If we’re going to interpret chapter 20, verses one through three as not being literal because it’s not. And then we’re going to interpret verses four through seven as not being literal because it’s not. And then we’re going to interpret verses eight through 10 as not being literal because it’s not, how are we being consistent? If we immediately get to verse 11 through 15 and say,

ah, that’s literal because we’re going to come to chapter 21. And we’re going to say, but this is figured out again. What in the text tells us that 11 through 15 is lifted. When everything else around it is figurative in the answer is nothing. There’s no indicator anywhere in the text that tells us we should interpret it any different than all the verses surrounding it.

Okay. So you just like, we had courage. Those who hold Supreme millennialism no, no, no, no. You’ve got to be fair to the text. You’ve got to interpret it consistently. Whether we like their interpretation or not, we could at least insist that they do it consistently. We too have to be consistent with the text. And if we’re going to insist that everything around,

it’s not literal, then we’ve got to insist that it’s not either. And that is not a picture of the day of judgment, where we see all these pictures and say literal, okay, we’ve got to be consistent. So we’ll pick up with chapter 21, any questions? Cause I know sometimes it makes sense in my head. That doesn’t mean it made sense coming out of my mouth.

All right. We’ll pick up with chapter 21 and, and we’ll get through. We, we may get through and just, just two lessons, the rest of it. And then we we’ll pick up with wherever the students, the kids classes are back with our regular studies. So I’ll be talking with the other teachers and finding out which, which lesson they’re on back in the other material.

And we’ll just join up with them wherever they’re at. So by Sunday, I’ll get that to you for folks who want to be reading ahead into, into the next topic study. Thank you very much.<inaudible><inaudible> I don’t know what happened to that, but we’re going to clip this up here and hope it works. Sounds like it’s working now. Okay.

578, 578 sing all four verses we will glow riff on five King of Kings. We will glow red five. We will go red five<inaudible><inaudible> and majesty. We will bow B four is the Roan. We will worship him.<inaudible> we will worship him. Oh, he is<inaudible>. He is Lord of all.<inaudible> all praise to him.

We<inaudible> King of Kings. Hah<inaudible> ah, Layla. Yeah. Lord of Lords is a gray. The imitation song will be number 948. Good evening, everybody. This evening. I want to talk to you about loving the law of God. Now this may surprise you, but not many people do love the law of God. They think law is to authority,

authority oriented, and that it’s too burdensome. Let’s read first John five and verse three first John chapter five in verse three for this is the love of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments commandments are not grievous or burdensome. They are not burning. So if you love the law, you will be called a legalist. Nowadays, those who don’t like God’s law.

Think they are too spiritual to be bound by any law, they are progressive or so they like to call themselves. Excuse me. David was one who loved God’s law. Let’s turn to the hundred and 19th Psalm. This is where the majority of our texts we’ll be taking from this evening, Psalm 119. And we’ll begin in verse 97. Oh, how I love thy law.

It is my meditation all the day. Why did David loved the law? David loved God’s communion, commandments ’cause they made him wiser. Then his enemies verse 98, thou thou through thy commandments has made me wiser than my enemies for they are ever with me and Psalm 111 verse 10. Excuse me. David seems the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

A good understanding have all they that do his commandments, his praise in Jorah forever. And in Ecclesiastes, chapter 12 in verse 13, his son writes, let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God, and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man. David loved God’s testimonies because they gave him more understanding than his teachers.

Let’s turn back to Psalm 119. And look at verse 99. I have more understanding than all my teachers for thy testimonies are my meditation. Those who know God’s word, know how to weigh the value of what they are taught. They can decipher what to accept and what to reject. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the knowledge of the Holy is understanding Proverbs nine in verse 10.

David Love God’s precepts because they gave him more understanding than the ancients verse 100. I understand more than the ancients because I keep thy precepts. We like to think that wisdom comes with age, but we all know that that is not always the case job. Chapter 32 in verse nine, Eli who says great men are not always great. Men are not always wise.

Great. Here is older men, neither do they neither do the aged understand judgment. Now while it is foolish to lightly dismiss an elder person’s wisdom, it is even more foolish to follow their counsel. When it is contrary to God’s law, the young prophet believed the lie of the old prophet. And God said to him for as much as Dow has disobeyed the mouth of the Lord and has not kept the commandments,

which the Lord thy God commanded the carpets shall not come onto the sepal curve by fathers. First Kings 13, 21 and 22, David knew God’s laws would keep him from evil ways. Verse 101, I have refrained my feet from every evil way that I might keep thy word. He resolved that he would not depart from them. Verse 102. I have refrained my feet from every evil way that I might keep thy word.

Hmm. I have not departed from my judgments for thou hast hot, no this thing in my throat that won’t go away to him. They were God’s words were sweeter than honey verse 103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste? Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. He knew that the mercies in salvation of God will come according to them.

Word of God, verse Psalm one 19 verse 41. Let thy mercies come. Also unto me O Lord, even nice salvation. According to thy word, the entirety of the 119 song should be read as the Psalm of a man on his knees, seeking God through his word. It is because David loved God’s law that he said, therefore, I hate every fall,

all suede Psalm one 19 one Oh four, show me a man that does not hate every false way. And I will show you a man that does not love God’s law. It does not surprise me that David would seem, Oh, how love I by law and verse 97, four, he had already said blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.

His delight is in the law. The Lord Psalm one, one and two. The Psalm of David are the songs. All of them are powerful. They are bold and challenging and beautiful because David loved God’s law. I hate to think what insipid lyrics would be written here. If the inspired writer had been a liberal. Now, if you love God and have yet to obey his commandments,

you love his law and you haven’t decided to follow them yet. Then the waters of baptism are ready for you. Or if you have seen yourself step off the path and, and look away from his law and, and see that you’re having problems with it, then we have the prayers of the saints to help encourage you, whatever you need. Come forward.

As we stand in scene<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible>. I am resolved to go to the same<inaudible> he is the true one. He is the jars one<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> yes<inaudible>. I am<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Heavenly father will. And we’re grateful For this privilege. We’ve had to assemble and study a portion of your word during this mid week section, help us to always apply these truths that we learned from my law have follow as closely as humanly possible to the precepts they’re laid out before us,

as we prepared to depart were mindful to those that are not able to assemble with us. We pray your healing hand will be placed upon them. And they, once again, may be restored to their much wanted help last each of us, according to her several needs, as we depart, especially father, we ask that you forgive us of our shortcomings as we repent and turn from them and bring us all back at the next appointed hour.

So in Jesus name, we pray<inaudible>.

11-15-2020 Revelation 20 (Class)

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams, Revelation, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> good morning. Anybody’s wondering it’s not anybody in here. So, or I’ve told you already Take your Bibles, if you will, and open them to revelation we’re in the end of revelation, chapter 19, the beginning of chapter 20, we do not have any questions, any new questions for today because we’re not going to make it through chapter 20 today.

Okay. Just to set the expectations where they belong, because they don’t belong very high. This is one of those passages is one of those chapters in revelation where a lot of the things that people teach from the book of revelation come from these verses, especially concerning the end times. And so we are going to take a little bit of time and kind of go through this,

not try and push too quickly to where we can get an idea and a firm grasp of what is John saying? Why is he saying it and, and be clear in our minds concerning that as we go through from chapter 20 in the chapters, 21 and 22. So let’s start with a word of prayer and then we’ll begin our gracious father in heaven with all humility and a gratefulness we bound before you thankful for this day that you’ve given to us thankful for the life and the energy that we have to be able to assemble together,

mindful of those who are struggling because of illness. Many throughout our country that are struggling because of COVID mindful of, of the whitleys and praying that they recover quickly and fully from their struggles with this disease. We’re mindful of all those who are still at home because of this disease and the many, many disruptions that is brought to their life. We pray that you be with them and comfort them in this hard time.

Help us to be a comfort to them as well. Pray that you be with those who are leading our nation now and in the future, pray for the leaders of every nation throughout the world, that they might make decisions that provide doors of opportunity for the gospel to be preached throughout the world and help us in every country, as Christians to have a mindset that is determined to take the gospel to the loss throughout the world.

Lord, we pray that as we go through this time of study, the things that we read and the things that we understand from this book might be clear to us, but also that we might keep fast in our mind the main message of the book. And that is that as long as we’re faithful to you, we are victorious in the end, no matter what happens in this life,

all this, we pray in Jesus name, amen, as we go through. And as we conclude the book of revelation, what I hope is that you know more about revelation than you did before we started. If nothing more than just going through the questions, because the majority of the questions aren’t, what does it mean? The majority of the questions are what’s in the book,

what’s in the text. And if you have a grasp of what’s in the text and you connect it with the message of the book, because the message of the book is simple. The message of the book is clear the message of the book, all revelation, the entire book is one single solitary message. It is Christ telling the church. You may go through hard times,

but if you’re faithful to me, you’re victorious in the end or in a short phrase, the message of the book is the overcomers come over, okay? The ones who overcome in this life come over to be with God when this life is finished. Okay. That is the message of the book. And so everything that we go through, whether you get every aspect of every vision,

whether you get every detail or not just remember when you back up, it’s a picture book, it’s got a symbol message and the message is Christ wins and Satan loses. That’s the message of revelation. So when we get to the end of chapter 19, we’re going to begin about verse 17. And we’re going to go down into chapter somewhat, but we’re going to do this.

And we’re going to hopefully do it fairly methodically, but try and cover a number of things that are going to be questions. And if you ever study revelation with someone, especially someone in the denominational world, they’re going to have questions about this section. And because they will have heard all sorts of things about what chapter 20, especially, and the end of chapter 19 means.

And the thing to remember as we go through this is we’re going to stick with one very significant principle. And that is this. The book was written to a specific group of people who were alive at a specific time who were about to undergo something that John says was shortly to come to pass. And if we lose sight of who John wrote it to,

when he wrote it, why he wrote it and what those people living then were about to go through, we will go hog wild with chapters 19 and 20. But if we keep it in the context, if we keep it in the text where it was written and the people it was written to in the time it was written for, we can understand clearly what it is that God is saying.

Now let’s go over the questions real quick. Before I get ahead of myself, chapter 19 questions, question one. According to the multitude of voices from heaven, what four things belong to the Lord? Our God, God, Salvation, glory honor, and power. Now we made mention of the fact that the emphasis of this here is if these things belong to God,

then they don’t belong to who Satan. They don’t belong to the beast. They don’t belong to the, the, the CBS, the land bees, the false prophet, the dragon, the great whore. They don’t belong to any of them. They belong to God. Okay. What act caused the multitude in heaven to make this declaration the judgment of God.

Okay. Not now talking about the final day of judgment. God’s act of judging specifically the great city chapter 18. Who’s also seen in chapter 17 as the great whore. All right. Ver question three, verse seven. What celebratory occasion is pictured as a reason for those in heaven to rejoice. All right. Marriage, supper of the lamb. Question four.

What? Adorns the bride?<inaudible> All right. So the, the visual is fine. Linen clean and clean and white, but what does, what’s the interpretation? The righteous acts of the saints. Okay. Here’s one of those times where John says, here’s what saw, and here’s what it meant. He doesn’t always do that in the book of revelation.

Quite often, he just says, here’s what I saw. And it’s up to us to figure out what it meant by going through the book and interpreting it properly. But here’s one of those occasions where he’s very clear. I saw the bride and this is how she was adorned. And the interpretation of that is this was the righteous acts of the saints.

There we go again. All right. Someone’s going to find a different pocket. Put their keys in question five, who is John commanded? Not to worship. Okay. The one, the one who’s speaking to him, which it, based upon the earlier text, it could be one of the elders, or it could be one of the angels, but the,

the one who’s speaking to him, who’s not God, he’s not supposed to worship him. Who is John commanded to worship God only. Alright, question six, who is riding the white horse? Christ is what is he called? Faithful and true. What is he doing in this passage? And what was the one on the white horse doing in revelation six?

What was he doing in this passage? Judging and making more, what was he doing in chapter six, conquering and going forth to the conquer. Okay. So the reason why I bring that up is we want to be clear. What we saw in chapter six is what we’re seeing in chapter 19, but there’s no big separation between chapter six and chapter 19.

There’s no, there, there, there’s not thousands of years between those, those two passages. They’re right there. They’re saying the same thing. Chapter six was just a preview of what we’re now seeing in culmination in chapter 19. Okay. Question seven, who is described as the one who rules over the nations and treads out the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of almighty God Christ.

Okay. When we look at this, it is important for us to realize that a lot of people’s view their, their, their mental picture of Christ as kind of starting off the, he he’s the baby in the manger that everybody can get, you know, get on board with. And then he’s just, he’s all about love. They, they read John three 16 and,

and, and God and Christ. They’re all about love and revelation. Doesn’t hold up that picture. But Jesus didn’t either because you just step right over to chapter five of John and Jesus is saying all judgment has been put in my hand by the father. There’s coming a day when everyone will hear my voice and rise from the dead, Jesus never painted a picture of himself as somebody who’s all about love and not about judgment,

never, never made that picture. Never left that impression here, Jesus has pictured over and over and over again as the one who fights against evil, the one who fights against sin, the one who fights against those who ally, ally themselves with the beast and with Satan. Even if those people go back to chapters two and three are his churches. If one of his churches,

allies himself with Satan, Jesus says, I’ll come and make war with you. Okay? So we need to be careful that we don’t put on our mental image of Jesus, an attribute that just simply doesn’t exist. And that is love without judgment. That’s not Jesus. What happened to the beast and the false prophet. Okay. All right. So verse 20,

then the beast was captured with him, the false prophet who worked signs in his presence by which he deceived those who were received the Mark of the beast. And those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the Lake of fire burning with Brin stone. Okay. So the beast and the false prophet. Now, remember you’ve got the beast of chapter 16.

Nope. It’s chapter 13. You’ve got the two beasts. You’ve got the beast that looks like the dragon, the lamb beast. And then you’ve got the sea beast. Now I’ve got those opposites, the CBS that looks like the dragon and the lion beast that looks like a lamb. And the land beast is a false prophet. The land beast is the one that deceives everyone.

The land piece is the one that is the religious force of Rome. The CBC is the military and the conquering power of Rome and the economic power of Rome. So both of those two BS, one references, the false prophet, the, the, the land bees, those two bees are cast into this Lake of fire. Okay. We’re not looking at the final judgment of God.

We’re not looking at the day of judgment. This isn’t nowhere in here is that the day of judgment, it’s just not here. Okay. We’re going to get into that a little bit more. Then question nine. What happened to the armies of the beast and those who followed the bees?<inaudible> All right. So they were killed with a sword and then devoured by what the birds.

Now, if we’re on the day of judgment, okay. If that’s what we have here, if the day that the beast, the CBS and the land-based are cast in the Lake of fire is the final day of judgment. We have a problem. Beltway. It’s a real simple one because Peter tells us when that day comes, all the things that God created,

all the elements, all the universe is going to be burned up. And this physical life is going to be over. Now, if this physical life is over and that’s the day we’re talking about here, then by all means, tell me why are the birds still around what birds and notice. So this is where we’re going to, we’re going to pick up here.

Let’s actually start in verse 17. I want to get the whole kit, the whole context, chapter 19 verse 17. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun and he cried with a loud voice saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven. Now somebody will come along and say, well, these aren’t, these are earthly birds.

These are the, the, this is this some spiritual thing. Okay? Here’s the problem that we’re going to get into. And we’re going to point it out over and over and over again, probably to a point where you were sick of it is you don’t get to go into a passage. And just as the phrase that I remember hearing growing up,

Willy nilly change, this is literal. This is not, this is literal. This is not all in the same passage. It’s either literal or it’s not, but you don’t get to pick and choose. That’s literal. That’s not, that’s literal. That’s not. That’s literally just to make a doctrine and a story that you want to tell. That’s not how we interpret scripture.

John’s seeing a picture. John’s seeing a vision and all through revelation. We were to understand this. We’re supposed to see what he sees and understand what it means, not see what it means. Those are two different things. If you look at it, you have to then interpret it. You’re not supposed to look at it and say, that’s, what’s going to happen.

No, you’re supposed to look at it and say, okay, that means something about what’s going to happen. Okay? And there’s a very big difference. When you look at, maybe this is a good way to, to, to do it. When you look at a photograph of two children playing, let’s exclude the whole Photoshop idea at all, that you just look at a good old Polaroid.

What do you know about that picture?<inaudible> It was one moment in time and it actually happened. Okay. We’re just talking about general reality. You see a Polaroid of two people, two children playing outside, and you know, that event happened. You’re not supposed to interpret it. It’s just that a moment in time, that is not the book of revelation.

That is th th the time that that ends is when you get to the part where John says I was on the isle of Patmos on the Lord’s day. That’s about the last statement in the book of revelation. You get to treat as if it’s a Polaroid. From that point forward, you’re supposed to see an artist’s rendition that has meaning and may not look like the actual events in physical form.

Instead, it’s a visual representation of something. Okay. Very different thing. So when we get into this, we’ve got all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, and somebody is going to say, well, that’s, that’s heaven where God is, no, it’s not. That’s the sky. And all throughout scripture, we hear the birds that fly in heaven,

being a reference to just the birds of the earth. Okay? So let’s, let’s not take it where it doesn’t go. And the message of the one who’s standing in the sun says, come and gather together for the supper of the great God that you may eat. The flesh of the Kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men,

the flesh of horses, and those who sit on them and the flesh of all people free and slave both small and great. Okay. The angel says to the birds, you’re going to devour<inaudible> Yeah. The whole army, but specifically, what are they going to eat off of them? Their flesh. It’s not spiritual. It’s physical. Okay. But it’s not literal.

We’re not supposed to be looking for a time in where God defeats a great army and all the birds of heaven get called together to devour. No, no, no, no. That’s not what we’re here for. God’s saying I’m going to destroy you so completely that my armies don’t have to come and take care of you. I can just send the birds.

There’s nothing left. They’re going to completely deal with the beast and his armies. Okay. As we view revelation and revelation is God’s judgment on Rome. That picture is crystal clear all throughout the book. God is not the, for those who interpret revelation to be before age 70 and to be about the Jews, I’m sorry, but this doesn’t work. This is no picture of the Jews.

Anytime. In the first century, there was no time where all the Kings of the earth gathered together and fought with the Jews against the Christians that didn’t happen, but Rome and its forces and its armies and its powers did long after the Jews were, were done and finished as a nation in 80 70. Okay. This also isn’t about some future time to come to pass.

John made it clear over and over. These things must shortly come to pass. So God’s going to take Rome in, in the embodiment of Domitian as that one, who would bring that persecution back mouth persecution is going to continue after demission dies, but we’re okay with that because here’s the thing we need to remember. God says at that point in time,

you’re S you stand condemned. Here’s a good analogy. Some will question. Well, wait a minute. If, if the persecution continued after Domitian and it did Rome continued to persecute the church for 200 years after demission. If that persecution continues, how is it that God could say he judged it and dealt with it in the days of demission in this same way.

When did the old Law and the law of Moses, When Christ died, when did God replaced replace the high priest that was under the old law with a new high priest, same time when Christ died. When did God replace the old covenant King with a new King, same time. All right, God changed the law. God changed the priesthood. God changed the King.

He also changed the covenant. When Christ died, all those things were nailed to the cross. The week after Christ died, what had changed in the temple? Nothing. What had changed about the priesthood? Nothing was there still a King in Jerusalem? Yes. The fact that God changed it, then didn’t mean there. Wasn’t still a continuation of time that would bring about his full and complete judgment on all of those things.

But it didn’t matter that they continued to exist. It didn’t matter that for another 40 years, almost those high priests that fought, they were high priest of the Lord would continue offers, offering sacrifices. And those who were still looking for the kingdom to come and for a King to rise up, we’re still looking for that. And that they fought, they were still living under the old covenant and they fought all of those things.

It didn’t matter that they fought all those things were still true because it looked like it physically, because God had said it’s done right here at this moment in time, it’s finished, even though it looks like it continues on. Do you know there are still Jews who were holding onto the old covenant today? How many, how many years are we out from the day that it was nailed to the cross?

Now? How is it? We know the covenant ended and the high priest changed and the King ship changed and the law was Bagnall. How do we know all those things happened when Christ was put on the cross? Because we’re told, hit same. Thing’s true. In revelation. When God says in demission, I’m judging Rome, it doesn’t matter that in history,

Rome looks like it continues on as far as God’s concerned, right? Then his judgment is signed, sealed, delivered, guaranteed. Even though it looks like in history, Rome continues on it doesn’t matter. Just like it looked like Israel continued on it didn’t matter. Their fate was sealed and God says it’s done right here. And the only way we know that is because that’s what he told us,

same way that we know that the law was nailed to the cross when Jesus died, because he told us, okay, we’ve got to remember that as Christians, we don’t look at events time, the way God does. And that’s not a license to arbitrarily interpret the Bible. That is a licensed to say, I believe God did it because God said he Did.

And I’m going to let him work out the timeline of how those things get finished. But ultimately God says, here’s when it happened. Here’s how I judged Rome. Here’s what’s going to take place. And here’s what you need to know about it. Okay? So the S the angel calls the birds together, and they devour the armies of the beast.

And I saw the beasts and the Kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse and against his army. Then the beast was captured with, and with him, the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the Mark of the beast, and those who worshiped his image.

Okay? So they go out to make war. They go out against the one who’s on the horse. They go out against the army is the one who’s on the horse, which are Christians. And they go out And they lose their captured. And then they’re judged. These two were cast alive into the Lake of fire burning with brimstone, and the rest were killed with the sword,

which proceeded from the mouth of him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh. There’s a time in the old Testament where Israel has come out of Egypt And they’re sick and tired of manna. They don’t want any more, man. They, as they say, love this light bread that they’ve received. They here they are.

They’re being fed by God. Every single day. They’re having to do nothing to get it other than go out and gather it in the morning And they can’t stand it. They hate it. And God says, okay. And they say, we want meat guys. This I’m going to give you meat. And God, It causes birds to come in and basically just lay themselves down and die To such A degree.

God says, I’m going to give you so much meat. You’re going to despise it. I’m going to give you so much meat. It’s going to be coming out. Your nose is the analogy. And then The birds fly in. And a bunch of the people greedily go out, because remember the thing about the manna was they had a portion. They could only get what they were allotted.

If they got more, it went, it went bad. If they got less, they didn’t have enough. They were to go out and get their portion. While a bunch of these people go out and greedily begin to gather up this. The, the birds that are, have, have landed to gather of this meat beyond what they need. And God begins to bring about a plague.

God begins to kill them because of their greediness here, the pictures flipped on its head. It’s now the birds of the heaven that get the feast. They get the feast prepared for them by the Lord because of the wickedness of those who follow the beast and the false prophet. Okay. So it’s just an interesting flip-flop picture from the old Testament. The restaurant Killed with a sword,

which proceeded from the mouth of him who sat on the horse and all the birds were filled with their flesh. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. Okay. So see the picture. Don’t expect to get every, every little detail to have some great meaning. John sees an angel he’s descending from heaven.

He’s got a great chain in his hand And he’s got a key. Okay. Notice what happens, Got the key to the bottomless pit, a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal on him so that he should not deceive the nations that he should deceive the nations no more.

Till the thousand years were finished. Now go back to chapter 13 And be reminded chapter 13. Then I stood on the sands of the sea and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and 10 horns, and on his horns, 10 crowns, and on his heads, a blast one’s name. Now the beast, which I saw was like a leopard.

His feet were like a feet of a bear. His mouth was like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power, his throne, and his authority. We Said in Daniel’s picture, in Daniel’s prophecy, those individual creatures, the lion, the leopard, and the bear were all part of the kingdoms that came before Rome. You remember there was the Babylonian kingdom and then the Mito Persian kingdom,

and then the Grecian kingdom. And ultimately Rome would come Rome in Daniel’s visions described as an indescribable beast. Okay. But these attributes are all carried forward into sure. Of Rome and his power to deceive nations And to convince them, but who, who do they get their power from? Who does Rome get its power from the devil? The dragon? Okay.

So now the beast, which you see was just cast into the Lake of fire and the false prophet, who is the other beast, verse 11. Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth and he had two horns, like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. So he speaks with the power of the dragon. He exercises all authority in the,

of the first beast in his presence and causes the earth. And those who dwell in it to worship the first bees. So he’s causing false worship to happen. And those who dwell in it to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed, he performs great signs and even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth, in the sight of men.

And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs, which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. All right. So the one beast is the power and the mind, and the force pictured as, as Babylon and the Mito Persian empire and the Grecian empire all rolled in the one in Rome.

And the other beast is pictured as the deceiving, the deceptive one, the false prophet who causes people to worship the first beast and the dragon. So here we see angel comes down from heaven. He’s got this great chain. He’s got the key to the bottomless pit, by the way, where did the beast come up out of Way back in chapter 11,

there were two witnesses. And those witnesses are proclaiming the word of God and testifying. They’re the prophets. The one of them’s pictured like Moses, the others picture like Elijah. And something comes up out of somewhere and kills them. What was it that came up? We’re just holding. It’s the beast. Okay. The beast comes up out of the bottomless pit.

Okay. This is not new. We are not suddenly introduced to a bottomless pit that holds back the power of the persecuting beast. No, no. That’s what we saw at the very beginning. Here comes the beast. He rises up out of the bottomless pit, and now he’s being put back in the bottomless pit. Okay. Get the picture. Rome as persecuting power was here before we saw it in Nero,

he persecuted the Christians and then Nero died and the persecution stopped and the beast is coming back up. And he’s going to persecute the Christians again in the time of demission and forward. But God, don’t worry about it. I know where he came from and I’m putting them Back. I’m going to destroy his power. What you see in the end of chapter 19.

And the beginning of chapter 20 is God’s saying as an instrument of Satan, Rome Room is finished. You’re not seeing a final judgment on Satan. I know that. And so do you, because in just a little bit, we’re going to read about a little season where he comes back up. This isn’t a final judgment on Satan. This isn’t a final holding of Satan.

This is, God’s saying, Satan, you tried to use Rome every time you read about the dragon. He looks like Rome. Remember the dragon had seven heads and 10 horns. And he looked like Rome. And he was being written on by a harlot. He looked like Rome. And then the causes Rome to begin persecuting and Rome looks like him,

But God says, you’re done. The beast is done. Profits done. And the dragon who looks like Rome is done Bound up, put In the bottomless pit. And he’s there for a thousand years Now, Ash, those who believe in pre millennialism Is the key. A literal key will go. No. Is the chain the literal chain? No.

As the bottomless pit, a literal bottomless Pit. No. Is the dragon a literal Dragon? No. Is the thousand Years a literal thousand years? Well, yes, Absolutely. Do we see a problem? That’s not how we interpret scripture and never has been. So what is a thousand years in this text? We’ve seen Thousand before we we’ve seen multiples of a thousand.

We’ve seen a thousand used all throughout revelation to mean different to, or to mean the same thing over and over again. A thousand always pictures God’s complete Action. It means The totality of something. And don’t just take my word for it. Go to Psalm one Oh five or not. I didn’t expect to make it any farther than this. So we’re we’re right on schedule Psalm one Oh five and verse eight.

I will Want us to be clear. This is not some arbitrary interpretation of a thousand. Okay. This is regularly. God uses it in scripture. Psalm one Oh one Oh five verse eight. I can turn one more page, actually verse seven. He is the Lord of our, he is the Lord. Our God, his judgments are in all the earth.

He remembers his covenant forever. The word, which he commanded for a thousand generations. What about generation? 1001? Is that the question we’re supposed to ask in that passage that God’s going to be faithful in his judgments and his commandments for every generation up until generation 1000? No, that’s not what we’re supposed to get from that. If he’s been faithful for the last thousand generations,

don’t you think he’ll be faithful for the next one? That’s what the writer is saying. Go forward to first Chronicles, chapter six or backwards, I guess first Chronicles, chapter 16, first Chronicles chapter 16, verse 15, verse 14 says he is the Lord. Our God, his judgments are in all the earth. He remembers his covenant forever. The word,

which he commanded for a thousand generations. Again, the same verbiage, same iteration is that God is going to do this. Perpetually. God is going to keep his judgments. God is going to keep his covenant and nothing is going to stop him From doing it. Okay? Go backward. Well, actually forward again. Psalm 50 Psalm, 50 verse 10.

Not every beast of the earth. Let me read that again. With the words that are on the page. This time for every beast of the forest Is mine. And The cattle on a thousand Hills are mine. Are we supposed to interpret therefore the cattle on Hill 1001 doesn’t belong to the Lord? No. If the cattle on a thousand Hills belong to him,

then every cattle on every Hill belongs to him. Deuteronomy chapter seven, Deuteronomy chapter seven, verse nine. Therefore know that the Lord, your God, he is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations, with those who love him and keep his commandments. Does God keep covenant mercy in every generation with those who love him and keep his commandments?

Did it end at a thousand? No. Nowhere in revelation. Do we get the number 1000 where we’re supposed to see it and a tribute to it, a literal thousand in substance, nowhere. But if we were to, okay, if we want a thousand year reign of the Messiah later on in chapter 20 and the thousand year binding of the beast or the dragon here in the first part of chapter 20,

here’s what we’ve got to do. This is our responsibility. If we want to interpret it that way, then we are required to interpret it as a literal chain, as a literal key, as a literal bottomless pit and a literal dragon. But we’re not told to interpret it that way, anywhere in the book of revelation. So therefore we’re supposed to look at what we see and ask what it means,

not look at what we see and assume that’s what it means. Okay? That’s what you deal with when you’re dealing with apocalyptic literature and the book of revelation and the book of Ezekiel and a lot of other books like the latter, half of Daniel, don’t look at it and go 70 weeks. Well, he must mean 70 literal weeks. No, he doesn’t not.

And Daniel, see what it is. See what John saw and then ask what it means. All right. So we’re going to pick up here in verse three, go down through the end of the chapter on Wednesday. Thank you for your attention.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> good morning. It’s good to see everybody out this morning. It’s a beautiful day, but it’s kind of windy out.

There seemed like March, but it’s going to get better. But anyway, we like to welcome all of our barristers. If we have any today. And if you would to fill out a visitor’s card and put it in a collection plate back here at the back. So we’d have a record of your attendance. And if you hadn’t picked up your Lord’s supper,

It’s back there on that back table. Now it’d be a good time to get it. If you have a gotten it, we need to remember our CIT Jones, Springer and Dorothy Wilson and Janet Jones. We saw Janet yesterday and she’s, she’s doing good. She’s kind of feisty, but she was doing good. Our other sick Sandy Tramble is back home and feeling much better.

She had a stone that we still don’t know where it was, but they did remove a stone from her and she’s doing a lot better. And Jessica Dale is having some kind of stomach issue. Terry and Patricia Wigley are still recovering from COVID. And I think they might be doing, doing better. Terry we’re doing better Wednesday night. And I think she had gotten better before that,

but they’re doing better. Congratulations to Victoria that used to come to church here. And Jason Melton, they had a baby girl the other day. He was born Wednesday added Lynn. Kate, is that right? Where’s her name? But anyway, she had some problems had to be bedridden for a while before the baby was born. But everything’s good. I saw her announcements order of worship today day,

Michael Dale would be leading singing. Joe has the Oatman prayer. J Schaffner has the Lord supper and Aaron Cozort has the sermon. And Eric Harrelson will dismiss this with the closing prayer. Thank you ed, to be before you lead in SUNY. Again, my voice isn’t back a hundred percent, but I’m going to do the best that God will allow me to do our first song this morning.

We’ll be number 144 O worship the King O worship the key. Oh,<inaudible> and grain for Lee. See here’s Wanda for<inaudible> Dallas and then splendor and<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and<inaudible> Hey for children.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and<inaudible> Mac defend<inaudible> The song before our opening prayer will be number 474. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.

Thank you Lord, for loving me and thank you Lord for blessing me. Thank you Lord, for making me whole and saving my song. I want to thank you.<inaudible> thank you for saving my soul. Let us all with one eye caught seeing praise as to Christ. Lord, let us all you in song to praise him all day long. Thank you.<inaudible> thank you for saving my song,

who please rebel y’all well for me so I can serve you.<inaudible> use my life and bring your way take today. I want to thank you.<inaudible> me. Thank you, Lord.<inaudible> you<inaudible>. Thank you, Lord.<inaudible> Oh God. Our father in heaven, we truly are grateful that you do love us. We’re so thankful father for that love,

that was demonstrating through the death of your son, whereas willingness to die on the cross of Calvary. We’re so grateful father for the fact that we able to be cleansed of our Sans and as we become obedient to your will, and we’re so thankful that we are your children, father, we’re mindful of life itself, and we’re thankful for it. And we pray father that we realize that it is so brief.

We pray God that we might use our lives in service to you and glorify your name. As we have that privilege and opportunity, we never lose sight of life and of eternity. We pray father that we examine ourselves daily, that we remain in the faith that we look to one another, that we might gain strength that we look to your word, that we might be,

build it up in the faith and that we use our faith to try to reach those round about us. With the gospel. We are keenly aware of the brevity of life and that there are souls out there that have never named your name. We truly be mindful of them and of ourselves, of our responsibility and privilege that we have to share your word with them.

Father, we’re mindful of the faithful and we’re thankful for the influence they have over our lives. We’re mindful of our families, not only our physical families, but our spiritual families. And we’re so grateful for the faithful that they’ve been such a good example to us. And we’re thankful for physical families of the love that we have for one another. And especially our love for the father.

We’re mindful of those that are teaching and preaching your word and other places. And we pray that we might be an encouragement to them. We might be a blessing to help strengthen them and encourage them as they teach and preach the gospel that many souls might come to you. Father, we’re thankful for Aaron and Eddy and their family. We’re thankful for what they mean to the church here or the abilities that they have to encourage us and be a blessing to us here.

We pray that you be with air and as he breaks into us, the breath of life this morning, we’re thankful for Michael and Jessica and or that the work they’re doing. And as Michael goes through the school of preaching for the studies that he is engaged in, that will, it will help him to become a great minister of the gospel. We pray father that you help each and every one of us to look to one another and be mindful of each other,

especially those that are not able to be with us physically, that we continue to remember them in our prayers daily, that they might be okay. And that those that are facing physical problems, that they might be resolved by the ones that are administering to them. Father we’re mindful of those that are facing challenges with their spiritual walk. And we pray that we’d be keenly aware that they might not be fateful,

that we would reach out to them and try to encourage them as we have that privilege and opportunity help us each day, that we live, that we are mindful of those that are ill and try to administer them to their needs. We pray that you help us to always be mindful of who we are. And the example we set before, others, we pray that they always will see Christ living in us.

Father help us to be more loving, kind, compassionate patient, and understanding of one another that we can truly exemplify our Lord and savior. Forgive us father. When we fail the, and help us to repent of those sins that we might stand justified in your sight. Or we never know when our savior will come back and claim us. We pray that you help us to build one another up as the days go by.

And the forward to that home in heaven with the, and Jesus, we pray amen Song to prepare our minds for the Lord’s supper will be number 381 years. I spent in vanity years, I spent in vanity you years. I spent in vantage and PRA I had caring nod. My Lord was crucified, no knowing nod and was for me. He die.

And<inaudible> see, that was green. And grace was spree. God. And there was more to apply to me. Nah, my burden<inaudible><inaudible> by God’s word. And last night<inaudible><inaudible> to my guilty soul and flooring turn to<inaudible> see, there was great. And grace was free. Oh God. And there was more to apply to me.<inaudible><inaudible> no I,

again to your Jesus. Very thing. Nah, I gladly own him as my King. Nah, my rap shirts or can only seeing<inaudible><inaudible> there was great and grace was free. Oh God. And there was more to apply to me.<inaudible><inaudible> Oh, the love that drew salvation’s plan. Oh, the grace had brought it down to man.

Oh the mighty in golf. Thank God dance, man.<inaudible> see. There was great. And grace was free. Oh God. And there was more to apply to me.<inaudible><inaudible> We now come to a very special time in our worship service where we remember the death of our Lord and savior. So let’s focus our minds upon that cross upon the sacrifice that he has made for us.

Let us pray. Heavenly father. We’re indeed grateful for this. We have to assemble about this table to participate in these emblems, which memorialized the death of our savior. We pray, especially now for the bread, which represents the body that was sacrificed on that cross for the forgiveness of our sins. It’s in jesus’ name that we pray amen. Ever my father in a similar manner,

we’re grateful for this fruit of the vine, which represents the blood that was shed for the remission of our sins. Help us to realize the full significance of this great sacrifice and help us to partake in a worthy manner. It’s in jesus’ name that we pray. This concludes the Lord’s supper. We find this a convenient time to offer a prayer for and Thanksgiving for the blessings that we have received.

Heavenly father, we’re indeed grateful for the many material blessings that you so richly bestow upon each of our lives. We pray that we always remember that we’re merely stewards of these things that all of these blessings truly come from you. And as we prepare to return a portion of what you’ve blessed us with, we ask your blessing is upon us in jesus’ name that we pray Song before the lesson will be number 957.

This world is not my home. If you’re able, please stand for this song. This world is not my home. This world is not my home. I’m just passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond that knee angels back in me from heaven’s open door and I can feel at home in this world any more<inaudible> no, I have no friend,

Mike, you<inaudible> the angels back in me from heaven’s open door and I can feel at home in this small world any more. They’re all expecting me. And that’s one thing I know my savior. Pardon me? And now I on word, I know, take me through, I am weak and poor and I can fill that at home in this<inaudible> I have no friends like you,

if heaven’s not in my<inaudible> the angels back and me from heaven’s open door and I can feel at home in this world any more, just<inaudible> the same sun, every ah, shouting Victori song of sweetest, praise draft back from heaven. Sure. And I can feel that, huh? In this<inaudible> you know, I have no friends like you,

heaven’s not in my home. Nana Lord. Why? Well, I do need angels back and me from heaven’s open door and I can feel at home in this<inaudible> Maybe see you then if you would like to Mark it, it will be up here on the slides. But if you’d like to Mark it, the song of invitation is number 948. I am resolved number nine 48,

good morning. Just about every day, all over the country and all over the world. People get up, get ready. They prepare themselves for the day and they go out To work. They go to a job. They go to make gain. And that idea of gain carries with it. A similar idea in our English language, the word profit and all throughout scripture,

God speaks concerning gain. And the idea of gaining things in this life, sometimes it is spoken of in a neutral way, just simply a fact of matter that that it’s a necessity to, to gain, to provide for oneself. But sometimes it’s spoken of in a very negative way. And sometimes it’s spoken of, of things in a very different way than we might expect.

I want to spend some time this morning talking about gain, but we’re going to look at it from the negative perspective. First, there are some things when we go about our daily lives, when we provide for our own selves, when we go through life, gaining what is needed to sustain our homes, our families, and our livelihoods. There are some things that we must not do some ways in which we must not gain in this life.

Turn with me. If you will, to the book of Isaiah Isaiah in his prophecies in chapter 33 speaks concerning this very idea. Isaiah chapter 33, we’re going to begin around verse 14. God is he speaks through. Isaiah says the sinners in Zion are afraid. Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites who among Us shall dwell with the devouring Fire. Before we go much further.

We need to make, make note of one fact, the Hebrew writer over in Hebrews chapter 10 speaks concerning those who have access to the new and living way. The blood of Christ salvation through baptism found in the blood of Christ. That salvation, which provides us a home in heaven and a fellowship with God. But there are those in Hebrews chapter 10 who are departing,

therefore Seki being the church and the Hebrew writer writes to these Christian. And he tells them that those who are forsaking the assembly of themselves together, those who are forsaking the church, they have turned their back on Christ. He says, when you do that, you try to pawn the blood of Christ. You count the grace, which God has given to you as an unholy thing.

And he warns those Christians who are turning their back on Christ, who are going back to the Mosaical law, who are going back to the ways of the world. He warns Them that your God is a consuming Fire. That picture Partially from Isaiah chapter 33, as God pictured as a devouring fire. So the question in Isaiah chapter 33, verse 14,

who among us shall dwell with the devouring. Fire is speaking of God, in his judgment, Who Among us shall dwell with ever lasting Earnings. And here’s the answer. Two questions asked two questions, asked in repetition in order to focus on who is it that can stand with God. It’s very similar to the question asked in revelation chapter six, who can stand with God when God judges the wicked.

And here’s the answer he Walks righteously and speaks up rightly But in focus on our lesson. Notice this next phrase. He who despised Is the gain of oppressions. One of the struggles that Israel found itself in over and over and over again, especially in the minor prophets and in the later prophets, when the prophets would write to them, they would accuse them Of abusing the poor.

They would accuse them of doing harm to those who were defenseless. They would accuse them of, of controlling these people for their Prophet. And Isaiah makes it clear. The one who stands with God When God judges the one who is able to stand when God has a devouring, fire comes upon. Those who are doing wickedness is one of his attributes. Is he despises that he despises those who take advantage and oppress others who gestures with his hands,

refusing bribes, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from seeing evil. This isn’t someone who closes his eyes and says, I’m not going to look. I’m not going to see what they’re doing. No, no, no, no, no, no. He will not look upon evil to desire. Writ he will not allow someone to come into his presence who would give him a bribe.

He will not allow someone who will speak to him and encourage him to shed blood. He will not do these things. This is looking like a judge. This is looking like the picture of one who ought to be a righteous judge. But there were so many times in Israel where they were judged by those who would take bribes judged by those who would commit murder for their own gain,

judged by those who would oppress the poor to get profit. They were judged by those who would see The evil. And instead of condemning it, they join in. He will dwell on high, the person who won’t do these things, the person who walks, righteously, the person who speaks up, rightly he will dwell on high. His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks.

Bread will be given him his water will be sure. Notice The point that Isaiah is making the Lord is speaking to Israel. And he’s saying the judge, the person who has power and authority, who will not do wickedness, who refuses to even hear it, to see it, to, to dwell on it. But instead walks righteously and judges uprightly who speaks righteously his game.

His needs will be He taken kero. Jesus makes The point over in Matthew, chapter six concerning the one who strives for things of this life who seeks to gain that, which this life has and is worried about this life’s possessions. He says, when this person strives to do this, they’re missing what is of greatest value. Instead he tells that person seek first,

the kingdom of heaven and his righteousness and all these things Shall be added to you. So the first thing that we see here is that Isaiah says we are not to be those who seek gain By the oppressing of others, but he also in his, In the old Testament and in the new we read that we are not to receive gain dishonestly first Samuel chapter,

Wait, there was a time in Israelite history where they were without a King. There had not yet been a King in Israel. They were judged by those who were called judges. And Samuel was the last in the line of judges because in chapter eight of first, Samuel Israel will demand the King and God will give them a King. Now up until that point,

God was their King. They didn’t need an earthly King. They had a heavenly King, but they had refused that. But notice this statement that’s made in the beginning of chapter eight of first Samuel, as we see the reason, or at least the excuse as to why they needed a King. Now I came to pass verse one. When Samuel was old,

that he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joelle. The name of his second Abijah. They were judges in bear Sheba, but his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dis honest Gain took bribes and perverted justice. Now Actually would also occur in a very similar fashion with the sons of the previous judge.

But here Samuel Is going to appoint his sons as judges after him. And they’ll be put there in bear Sheba. And there’ll be said there to judge Israel, but instead of judging, according to the law, instead of judging, according to the commandments, instead of judging, according to the ways of God, they look for those who will give them profits.

If you can give me something, I’ll judge in your favor. If you can make sure that I get this, I’ll do this. I’ll make this judgment For you. Gon tells us And the old Testament law that the judges were to judge righteous judgment, but they were also not to show favoritism to the rich or to the poor. They were not supposed to judge in favor of one who was poor simply because he was poor.

They were to judge according to the law, when a Richmond came to the, came to them and said, I have possessions and I can take care of you and I can make sure you have everything you need. They weren’t to hear that they were to judge according To the law, but here Samuel sons seek after dis honest gain over in Ezekiel chapter 22,

God condemns two groups of people because they also saw it after dishonest gain. Ezekiel chapter 22 beginning in verse 23, Zeke GQL rights. And the word of the Lord came to me saying, son of man, say to her, you are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation. The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey.

They have devoured people. They have taken treasure and precious things. They have made many widows in her midst. Her priests have violated my law and profaned my Holy things. They have not distinguished between Holy and unholy, nor have they made, known the difference between the unclean and the clean. And they have hidden their eyes from my Sabots Sabbaths so that I am profaned among them.

Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey to shed blood, to destroy people, to get dishonest, gain three categories of people here are given by God that he condemns because of their actions, because their actions were dishonest for profit. First, he says your profits. The problem I have with you, Israel is your profits profits. I for money,

your profits speak good to someone for gain and evil against someone who will give them nothing. He says they are dishonest and they are causing widows to exist. If they can’t make their prophecy come true and get their money one way they’ll make it come true. Another way by killing people, Their profits were like Those roaring lions tearing their prey, but then he accuses their priests.

He says, this isn’t just a problem with your profits, but your priests as well are doing the same thing. They violated the law. They profaned my house. They profaned my name. They’ve caused people to know no difference between clean and unclean between Holy and unholy. They have destroyed my name For their own profit. But then he says, and your princes are no different.

Your princes, those who rule over you, those in the house of the King, they’re doing the same thing. All of this. He says it’s because of dishonor Gain, but even in the new Testament, we’re warned about dishonest gain. In first, Peter chapter five, Peter is he is writing as an elder, writes to elders. And he says,

this, the elders who are among you, I exhort verse one. I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed shepherd. The flock of God, which is among you serving as overseers, not by compulsion, but willingly, not for dishonest gain Ain, buddy girly. One of the things the new Testament promotes and allows is that elders are,

can or can be paid for their service for their shepherding function. But Peter makes it clear to those elders. You don’t do this. Like those profits of old, you don’t do this. Like those judges of old, you don’t do this. Like those priests of older, those princes of old, you don’t do it for this honest gay. You do it out of a love for the flock and for the Lord.

Why is it that this is such a problem? Why is it that game? And the things of this world were always such a problem generation after generation and still are Today. Part of it is greed in Proverbs chapter one, Solomon would write to his son, okay? As he opens up this, this book of wise sayings, as he writes these things to his son,

he writes beginning in Proverbs chapter one, beginning Around verse eight. He says, My son hear the instruction of your father and do not forsake the law of your mother for, they will be a graceful ornament on your head and chains about your neck. But then notice what he says. He says, my son, if sinners entice, you Do not consent.

He says, there are going to be people who will come to you and will seek to get you to do things with them, but you should not do. He goes on to say, if they say, come with us, let us lie in, wait to shed blood. Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause let us swallow them alive.

Like she’ll and whole like those who go down into the pit, we shall find all kinds of precious possessions. We fill our houses with spoil. You go down To verse 19 and we read, so are the lays of everyone who is greedy for Gain. But notice this statement, He says, so is everyone who is greedy for gain? And then he says something about that game.

He says something about an attribute of retribution as it were that that gain Will have on them. He Says it takes away the life of it. Owners Here. He describes one. Who’s willing to kill, willing to mane, willing to hurt and destroy in order for his own profit, for his own loss, his own desires in his own greed, buddy Warren Lose them.

When you do that, It is as if that game, that Profit remembers your deeds and will bring on you. What you’ve done to others. And how much, Many times in history, how many times in life, how many times in society do we find the person who abuses others for profits? It gets, it turned back on themselves by someone else.

Who’s willing to kill them for what they have greediness and the desire For what doesn’t belong to. You has always been a problem. And Isaiah chapter 56, Isaiah Again makes an accusation against another group of people in Israel, Isaiah chapter 56, beginning Verse nine, God and Isaiah through the Lord’s words, condemn the Watchman now in an old Testament city, okay?

In a place where you were surrounded by not only armies of, of nations, that didn’t like you, but even just the dangers of living in that day in time, the beasts of the, of the forest and the beach that would surround them. There were always those who were placed as Watchman. Those who were to keep an eye at night, especially they were to keep an eye for the enemy who might be coming.

They were to keep an eye for the beasts that might be lurking at the edge of the city. Those who might attack the prey and those who were unknown, The Watchman was there to keep an eye on the behalf of others. But in verse nine of Isaiah, chapter 56, we read all you beasts of the field, Come to devour God, the beast,

This time, God says, you get ready. You come prepared obese of the field and come to devour. My people notice what he says, all you beasts in the forest, his Watchman, the Watchman that belonged to the city. The Watchman that belonged to my people, the Watchman that belong to those who are supposed to be, He says his Watchman are blind.

They are ignorant. They are all dumb dogs. They cannot bark, sleeping, lying down, loving the slumber, Their defenses aren’t ready. He says, no, one’s paying attention. They’ve put the weakest in the, in the blind. They put them on the wall to watch for danger because everyone loves Their own sleep versus 11. Yes, they are greedy dogs,

which never have enough. And they are shepherds who cannot understand. They all look to their own way. Every one for his own gain from his own territory. What is it that they’re doing in actuality? They’re not literally putting blind men up on the wall. They’re not literally putting those who are blind out in the, in the edges of the city at night,

watching for the creatures that might come in and hurt someone know they’re placing those as Watchman, as shepherds of the flock of Israel who are only interested Did in themselves. This isn’t a condemnation of blind Watchman in a physical sense. It is a condemnation of self interested leaders whose only fought for themselves is their own gain. First Timothy chapter six, Paul Warren Timothy,

and in turn tells Timothy to Warn the church. First, Timothy chapter six in verse five, he tells us Going back to verse three, if anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of the Lord, Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine, which Accords with godliness. He is proud, knowing nothing but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words from which come envy,

striving for violins, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds of destitute of the truth. Who suppose notice, who’s suppose that godliness. This is a means of gain from such withdraw yourselves. Paul says among the church among Those who were Christians, if you see Someone who Uses their godliness for Profit, who use Is and has a mindset that their good deeds are supposed to be reimbursed,

that their good deeds are there and are done for money. And if they don’t get the money, you’ll never see the good deeds. Paul says, from that type of person, you withdraw yourself. You will Have no fellowship with them. But in the contrast, as we shift over to what God says we should do, when it comes to gain,

he says in verse six, now godliness with contentment is great gain. You know, I said, sometimes we see the scriptures, look at gain, look at profit, look at getting what we need in this life. A little different than you and I do in our daily lives. Maybe then we, we need to, re-examine how we view gain.

Because here Paul says, in contrast to the one who gives godliness in order to get gain, he says you have godliness and contentment, and that is gain. Whether there’s any money involved or not. Jesus said it this way. It is more blessed to give than to receive. Now, if you give something away, are you gaining in monetary or possessions?

Are you gaining something by giving? Yes, you’re gaining something, but not something physical. You’re gaining something spiritual all throughout scripture. One of the things that we are to understand that we are to see clearly is that we have a need for possessions. We have a need for the daily necessities, But We have a greater need for spiritual things. Philippians chapter three,

Paul writes to the church of Philippi And he says in Philippians chapter three and verse seven, he says, but what things were gained to me, she’s talking about a time in his life. When he was a Jew of all Jews, where he was the specimen of a Pharisee, where he was the example of one that everyone could look to and say that someone who’s important,

but he used all of those things and all of that position. And he abused it by using it to persecute the church. And Paul says, but what things were gained to me, these, I have counted law For Christ yet. Indeed. I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ. Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ Matthew chapter 16,

Jesus speaks concerning one who would follow him One who would be his disciple. And in Matthew chapter 16, he says the one who will be my disciple must do a number of things. Must forsake a number of things. Then he asked the rhetorical question, what shall man give in exchange for his soul? What does it profit a man if he gained the whole world and lose His own soul,

Some things that are gained in scripture that have real value honor is one of them in Exodus chapter 14, God is spoken of as gaining honor over Pharaoh in his armies, by defeating them at the red sea honor is something that has value. As long as it doesn’t create pride so long as it doesn’t establish within ourselves, something that we think we deserve instead of something given to us by God ultimately,

but land and possessions is another thing that is gained in this life. But it’s interesting that in Psalm 44 verses one through three, as the Psalmist writer reflects back on what God did for Israel, he reminds Israel in his day in time that the possession of the promised land wasn’t given to them, wasn’t gained by their efforts. It wasn’t gained by their strength.

It wasn’t gained by their ability. It was given by God. And one of the attributes that you and I need to recognize in everything that we have is that what we have doesn’t Along to us, Israel So often looked at the land they dwelt in as there The land and it never was, it was God’s land. Wow. Is it that Israel refused to observe the Sabbath?

One of the attributes of the Sabbath and the specific attribute of the Sabbath was that they were to do no work. They were to not seek profit there on that seventh day. And Israel had a hard time holding themselves back from their own profit For God because they lost sight of the fact that it all belonged to God. Why is it that Israel failed over and over and over for 400 plus years to keep the year,

the Sabbath year, the year of Jubilee? Why is it that every seventh year when they were commanded not to plant, not to put their crops in the ground, they didn’t do it. God, when he would bring 70 years of judgment upon them and bring them off into Babylon would accuse them through the prophet. Jeremiah. He said, the reason you’re going to go into captivity for 70 years is because that’s all of the years,

you didn’t observe the seventh Year Sabbath of my land. Why didn’t they observe this of the land? Is it because God didn’t prosper them enough? No, it’s because they were so interested in themselves, they didn’t obey the commands Of God. And God said, Oh, my land is going to get it Sabbath because it was his land, not theirs.

And so the Psalmus writer says in Psalm 90 Psalm 90 and in verse 12 Psalmus writer says to those who would hear verse 12. So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. One of the things over everything else that we are to gain is not profit. It’s not money. It’s not possessions, it’s wisdom and understanding.

But Paul said, one other thing was gained. One other thing that we wouldn’t normally call game and it was death. You remember Paul wrote in Philippians chapter one verse 21 For me to live is Christ. But to die is gain. As we go through this life, many mornings, we will get up and we’ll go to work. We’ll do whatever it is that needs to be done to gain the thing,

Things we need in this life. But may we never lose sight of the things that we are to be gaining that really matter glory before God and honoring him wisdom and understanding. And one day, if we have not sought to gain The world at the cost of our soul, one day when judgment comes from one, who’s described as a devouring fire, and we stand with him,

we can say I gained everything because whatever I had to lose for my soul was rubbish in comparison to eternity. If you’re here this morning and you’re outside the body of Christ, you’re outside of salvation, you’re outside of hope and redemption. You’re outside of an eternity and the possibility of an eternity with God, the father, how do you change that? You change?

It means that by dying to self, that thing, which causes you to seek after things, instead of God, possessions, instead of wisdom, that which has only temporary value instead of that, which has eternal value, you die. How do you do that? You recognize that Jesus Christ is the son of God. You recognize that he can teach you how to lift properly.

And instead of you insisting, you can live Properly. And you repent of your sins. You repent of the way that you have lived to change, to live the way he tells you to live. You confess the name of Christ. And in making that confession, you make that claim that you and everything you have Belongs to him, no matter whether you have wealth or nothing,

whether you are great or not that whatever you have is his, because it is anyway. You just might not admit it, but then you’re going to die. You’re going to be immersed in water for the remission of your sins. We’re going to go into a watery grave of baptism as an old dead sea. She’s going to rise up out of that watery grave,

a new living creature, Romans chapter six, alive, but no longer alive to yourself, alive to Christ. And then you two can look at your past and say, as Paul did, I counted as loss. And I counted as rubbish for what I have gained in Christ. You’re outside the body of Christ. This, you can change that if you’re a member of the body of Christ and you’ve lost sight on what his own real value in this life,

you can change that to, if you have need of anything, why not come as we stand? And as we say Hi, the things don’t know, blah, the<inaudible> ah, Hey son to him. Hey son. So glad<inaudible> jeez. Us great is yes. Well come to the, ah, I am resolved to go to the same<inaudible> he is the true.

He is that job. Last one. He had<inaudible><inaudible> Hey son to him. Hey son. So glad free. Jeez, us great. Yes. Come to the resolve to<inaudible> he<inaudible> he, well, he is<inaudible> Hey, Hey to him. Hey son. So Gladden free. Jeez, us great. Yes.<inaudible> I am resolved to and to the King leaving friends may oppose me.

Cause maybe sad me.<inaudible><inaudible> Hey son to him. Hey son. So Gladden free. Jeez, us great ass. Yes. Come to the, the song before our closing prayer will be number six, 134 we’ll work till Jesus comes six 34. Oh,<inaudible> in P sad. Oh,<inaudible> to jeez.<inaudible><inaudible> to Jesus Christ.<inaudible><inaudible> Connect me.

Oh,<inaudible> to Jesus comes when Jesus comes and being a<inaudible> God, our father in heaven, we come to you at this time, Thanking you for another opportunity to assemble here this morning, to sing songs, appraised your name and study a portion of your word. But God, we are so thankful that you sent your son Jesus to live amongst us here on earth years ago and to teach us.

But most importantly, to give us your word so that we had a guide to live our lives by Lord. We also know that there are many amongst our number that are dealing with various illnesses and ailments. And we ask that you please wrap your loving arms around them and comfort them as only you can. And if it be your will look upon the caretakers and the care providers of these individuals,

and if it be your will restore them to a measure health that they so desire so that they may one day assemble with us again, here in this building to worship you. And you’re a great name and Lord, we know that there are times that we fall short of your glory. And when we do fall short and we come to you and ask for forgiveness of sins,

we ask that you please do that. Forgive us our sins, and help to strengthen us so that we may live better lives. Now, as we prepare to depart this place, we asked you go with us and guide guard and direct each and every one of us in our everyday lives. So that we may be your shining light here on earth. To those that do not know your word or those that have heard your word and chose to ignore it so that they may one day have the same opportunity that we do.

And that is to live with you forever and heaven. We pray this through your son, Jesus name. Amen.

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11-11-2020 Revelation 19 (Class)

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams, Revelation by Aaron Cozort

Review – Revelation 18

New Questions – Revelation 19

Automated Transcript

<inaudible><inaudible> that’s fine.<inaudible> Okay. It’s about time for us to get started.<inaudible> We are in revelation chapter 19, start with review from chapter 18. It’s the questions let’s begin with a word of prayer, our gracious father in heaven. We bow before you at this time, grateful for the day you’ve given to us for the life that you’ve granted to us and the opportunities that we have to serve you.

We pray that you be with those that are dealing with COVID at this time and pray that you were dealing with those who are suffering from all manners of illnesses and difficulties. We’re mindful right now, especially of Francis’s daughter, SA, Sandy, and pray that all will be well with her. And that she’ll return to her desired help. We pray that you will be those who,

whose families have endured the loss of loved ones in recent months and days, we pray that you will give them strength, comfort during hard times during those moments, when it’s a struggle, because of the loss that they feel pray that you be with each and every one of us, as we go through our own set of struggles and difficulties each day, help us to look to you in faith and understanding.

But also may we always seek your grace and your comfort, your strength in time of need. We ask that you help us to remember that we have access and boldness to come before your throne. For that help, we pray that you be with this country, this nation for every nation that is on the top side of this earth, that they might have leaders,

which promote good things, moral things, but above all that, they have opportunities to teach the gospel to those around them and bring law souls to you. We ask that you forgive us when we sin and fall short of your glory, all this we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Chapter 18, Question one. How is the mighty angels glory described?

All right. The, the angel that’s described in chapter 18, verse one, his glory is described as illuminating the earth chapter 18. Verse two. What is the mighty angels announcement? All right, Babylon, the great is fallen is fallen chapter 18, verse three, question three upon whom has the great city had influence all nations. Okay. Question four.

What are the Christians told to do? All right. Come out of her, out of the city. What does it mean? Quote, God has remembered her iniquities. Okay. God’s going to remember her iniquities in, in Jew and judge her for her works. Okay. So it’s a judgemental or a judging remembrance question five in the analogy of Rome to Babylon,

would her judgment come quickly or slowly, quickly Question six. What would the merchants do? Who bought the riches of the who brought that’s supposed to be brought? They’re supposed to be to hard. There brought the ridges of the world to the great city to sell. We’ve been mourn who is commanded chapter 18, verse 22, rejoice at the judgment of the great city,

The saints, the apostles, and the prophets. And then in her destruction, what was found in the great city that brought about her ultimate destruction. All right. Blood of the profits and saints. Okay. So chapter 17 and 18, you get The, The judgment on the harlot and her desolation talked about chapter 17, chapter 18. You have the judgment of the great city and the beast.

And then chapter 19, we’re going to see all of this wrapped up because everything’s kind of been forward-looking forward-looking forward-looking and then chapter 19 is done. Okay. It’s going to be very anticlimactic when it happens with everything that’s been set up to this point, it’s going to be finished. Okay. But that’s because in all of this, God has said, listen to the saints,

because remember, God’s going to say it’s done before it ever gets started. And he’s going to remind them, this is what’s coming. This is what I’ve said. This is who it is. Here are all the clear indicators be ready for it, but they first have to go through the trials. They first have to go through the persecution before they ever arrive at the victory.

So we’re going to spend some time on that here in chapter 19 tonight, After These things, John writes, I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying Alliyah salvation and glory and honor, and power belong to the Lord. Our God, A victory cry goes up. The Great city is taken as a millstone and cast into the sea,

never to rise again, not that there was a time where Rome as the city got picked up and cast into ocean, but instead that God’s judgment would be complete and finished. It would be total in its, in its scale and in its scope. And as a result of that, when God judges Rome, when John God judges the harlot, when God judges the great city who’s riding upon the beast,

the rejoicing comes from, as we mentioned, the saints, the prophets, the apostles, and then he hears a great multitude in heaven. Now, before we go too far out of what we’ve discussed, all the way, all the way through who are those who dwell in the earth, in the book of revelation, they’re the ones that are marked with the Mark of the beast.

They’re the ones who are sinners. They’re the ones who are preached to they’re the ones who are the ungodly, who are those who dwell in heaven in the book of revelation. Are they the dead saints who are already gone on? Or are they the righteous? The righteous? Okay. There are times where they’re very specifically spoken of as those who have been killed.

Those who have suffered those who have died, but not exclusively, always in revelation. Those whose dwelling places, heaven are the righteous, whether dead or alive, and those whose dwelling place is the earth are always wicked, whether dead or alive. Okay? So when you hear a great multitude, shouting Allah, Eluvia salvation, glory, and honor, and power belong to the Lord.

And there are those who are in heaven. Don’t immediately assume that it’s only the dead people who are crying out this great cry of rejoicing. No, it’s the righteous ones. Okay. Dead or alive, having gone through the persecution or not the righteous ones recognize God and his power for attributes that belong to the Lord. Salvation glory honor, and power.

There’s there’s that one finger that’s still not quite, not quite there yet on that hand. Now these, these four things aren’t just brought out because they do belong to God. There’s many passages in scripture that describe these things as belonging to the God. This is set as a stark contrast to Satan, to the dragon, to the beast, because every one of these that belong to God,

doesn’t belong to Satan. Doesn’t belong to the dragon. Doesn’t belong to the whore. Doesn’t belong to the beast. It doesn’t belong to any of them. Why? Because it belongs to God. Okay? So this declaration is made and then verse two for true and righteous are his judgments because he has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication.

And he has avenge on her, the blood of his servants shed by her. We mentioned a little bit on Sunday, and we’re going to continue to mention it. Chapter six, over and over again, go all the way back to chapter six and the seals that are open and the seals that, that started out in the fifth seal, the saints crying out.

How long are you going to let this go on? And all the way over here in chapter 19, we’re seeing the fulfillment of what God told those saints in chapter five, or sorry, chapter six in the fifth seal. He said, you rest a little while. And I will. Judge is the implication there. They’re going to rest because they’re going to see his judgment.

And now they’re declaring his judgment has come to pass. Okay. Again, they said, hallelujah, her smoke rises up for forever and ever. And when Rome ultimately falls, when, when the nation is finally in, fully in the kingdom is finally in fully put to rest. Is there going to be a burning fire in Rome that never ever ends?

And Jesus uses the example of my brain stuck on Gomorrah. And it’s not Gomorrah the, the word for hell Gahanna. Thank you. That was, it was not coming out. When Jesus uses the word Gahanna, it was a bird trash heap uses it too. He uses the figure of a physical place with a, a very physical and temporal fire that where people burdened their tracks cash to exemplify eternal judgment.

Okay. He uses the figure of the physical place to speak about the spiritual place. Well, Rome, isn’t going to burn in a eternal fiery Pyre for all of time, but would Rome ever arise again as a kingdom? Like the kingdom that was destroyed? No. Her judgment is complete final and finished. And we’re going to bring this out as we go through here,

because contextually, we need to pay attention to the context in these passages and be careful that again, we’re seeing things that are like something else that doesn’t mean. They mean the same thing. Okay. So the 24 elders and the four living creatures, verse four fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne saying, amen, hallelujah. Then a voice came from the throne saying,

praise our God, all you, his servants. And those who fear him both small and great. So those who dwell in heaven, praise God, the BESE, praise God, the 24 elders, praise God. Every one is to recognize the Lord and praise him. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude and the sound of many waters in the sound of mighty.

Thunderings saying Allah Lulea for the Lord. God omnipotent reigns. Now was this the first time was this the moment in time that God began to rain? Oh, okay. W w when God formed the earth, he was already raining. W w w when Adam stepped foot on the planet and didn’t even have Eve yet, he was already raining in the days of Abraham.

He was King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In the days of David, he was all ready. The one who David said, the Lord said, the my Lord, sit down with my right hand. He already was raining. This is not a proclamation of the beginning or the start of his reign at the end of some great time of tribulation.

He’s already raining, But Sometimes, sometimes we know he’s raining, but it doesn’t look like. And what you have in chapter 19 in the beginning is not the declaration of the beginning of his reign, but the recognition of the power of his reign, because he acts upon that power. He judges the harlot. He judges the beast. He judges the great city.

He brings about the judgment and his reign is seen by those who are suffering. And therefore you’re getting this proclamation. Okay. Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory for the marriage of the lamb has come. And his wife has made herself ready. Okay. So we’re going to transition from this time of, of joy this time of jubilation to a marriage feast.

Why a marriage feast well could be a number of different reasons, but it’s interesting to note at the end of chapter, 19 beginning in verse 21, then the mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea saying thus, with violence, the great city Babylon shall be thrown down and shall not be found anymore. The sound of harpists musicians,

flutists and trumpets shall not be hurting you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore. And the sound of a millstone shall not be heard of you anymore. The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore. And the voice of Brian Gruman, Brian shall not be hurting you anymore. He’s just used an analogy. Describe Rome and the,

the great city falling. And they wouldn’t have, there there’d be no marriage fees. There’d be no marriage ceremonies. There’d be no joy. There’d be no musicians. There be no building. There’d be no construction. None of these things are going to happen. And he’s going to turn right around and he’s going to talk about a marriage feast and you get into chapter 20 and 2122.

And he’s going to talk about a city and he’s going to begin to contrast all the things that God wipes out in Rome, to all the things that God builds and does for his people every day. The thing you won’t get when you follow the beast, when you worship the beast, when you serve the beast, when you’re defeated with the beat you get,

when you worship the lamb you get, when you follow the Victor. Okay? So there’s a, there’s a, there’s a contrast here between the two, but we also recognize and fully recognize. There’s a continual analogy in the new Testament between Christ and the church, the bride groom, and the bride. Okay. So he’s going to use that analogy.

We’ve seen it before, but just like his rain, doesn’t start here. You’re going to see a marriage ceremony, rejoicing, and all of this. But that doesn’t mean that was the, the point at which Christ married his bride. He’s didn’t marry his bride. The day Rome fell Christ married his bride in acts chapter two. When the church was established over in Galatians chapter five,

before we even read this text, recognize that in Galatians chapter five, the bride’s already spoken of as being one body with Christ. He is there one flesh. They are bride and husband in Ephesians chapter five long before we get to revelation chapter 19, we are not reading about the moment in time when Rome falls in the days of demission, we’re not reading about the time where Christ’s bride and him get married.

It’s a fit you’re okay. So as with everything we’ve gone through here, don’t look at it at a timestamp. You’re looking at a picture, okay. You’re looking at a contrast. So I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude is the sound of many waters in the sound of many thundering saying, I’ll aloo you for the Lord. God omnipotent reigns.

Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory for the marriage of the lamb has come. And his wife has made herself ready. And to her, it was granted to be a raid in fine linen, clean and bright for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, write blessed are those who are called to the marriage,

supper of the lamb. And he said to me, these are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him, Oh, wait a minute. Who who’s making this declaration to John? Is it Christ? No, he, this, this one who’s making this declaration to him says, or, or makes us decoration. And I,

John sees him. He sees himself, he’s in the vision. John’s on the Island of Patmos, but in the vision, he falls to his feet and he begins to worship the one who makes the par the proclamation. But he said to me, see that you do not do that. I am your fellow servant and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus worship God.

So the one who comes to him, one of the elders, I believe in, in the context, you go follow it all the way back makes this declaration. John falls down as his feet and be as worship. Now this John, the apostle, no better than to worship. Yes. So, so what’s this here for, okay. It was there a momentary lapse in John’s mind where he suddenly decided he needed to worship everybody who comes before him in division.

No, this is another visual visual element. This is another part of the vision to indicate to us. There’s only one who gets worshiped. There’s only one who you fall before. And by the way, it’s not just it’s, it’s here. And it pictures for us. It’s not just the wicked dragon. You don’t worship. And it’s not just the wicked beast that you don’t worship.

And it’s not just the wicked false prophet that you don’t worship. And you don’t just worship. Just not worship the wicked one on the throne. You also don’t worship a good person. You don’t worship the one who delivers the message to you. You don’t worship angels. You worship one And it’s God and him alone. Okay. So it doesn’t matter.

Good or evil. No one deserves worship, but the God, Lord God himself. Okay. So he said, I am your fellow servant and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Okay? So you’ve got this declaration going to John. This is the revelation of God. This is the revelation of the lamb.

This is the testimony of Christ. You worship him. Now I saw heaven, open and behold, a white horse. Where are we seeing a white horse before in the seals? Very first seal chapter six, verse two. We’ve got a white horse. Okay. Thank you. If you pay close attention, you’re going to find that it’s the same white horse and it’s the same person on it.

Okay. Now I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse, and he who sat on him was called faithful and true. Okay. Who have we already heard called faithful and true. Jesus Christ. Okay. So we know who this is. There’s no guessing about who, this is the one who rides on the white horse, white 16 different times in the book of revelation always has to do with holiness.

The one who rides on the wind horse is the one who’s called faithful and true it’s Christ. And then notice what we read. And he who sat on him was called faithful and true. And in righteousness, he judges and makes war back over in chapter six, verse two, we see a white horse. And the one riding on the white horse is doing what hold on to this for a minute.

Very introduction that the opening of the revelation remember, because that’s what the scroll is. The scroll with the six seals. He’s opening up and revealing the word of God. Okay? So he opens up the first seal and the picture immediately, the, the moment that it’s opened up the picture is Christ is conquering. But with the second seal, things start turning a different direction because you start getting the judgments of God and you start getting plagues and you start getting darkness and you start getting death and you get all of these things.

And these following seals, you begin with Christ, he’s winning, he’s conquering, he’s victorious, but then you see the saints and they’re dying and they’re crying out. How long are you going to allow this to happen? And then you see in the sixth seal, the judgment of God and the lamb coming upon those who are doing this persecution. And now here you are back in chapter 19.

And Christ is still conquering. You see all this time, Christ never stopped all this time. Christ was never the loser all this time, Christ didn’t stop being victorious. But for the Christians, it looked like it. They felt like it. They felt like he wasn’t doing anything. That’s why they were crying out. How long, how we don’t see you dealing with this?

How long until you do, but from chapter six to chapter 19, the message is clear. The one who looks like he’s winning, never wins. The one who looks like he’s conquering, never conquers. The one who looks like he’s got the power of death has no power at all. He’s only there temporarily. And the one who is riding the white horse,

who began the revelation will end it and will be victorious. Okay? So he, his eyes verse 12 are like a flame of fire. And on his head were many crowns. Now we we’ve talked about crowns all through the book. We we’ve talked about the elders who have crowns, but there’s two types of crowns. We’ve talked about. There’s the crown of the Victor.

And there’s the crown of the King, the elders that are around the throne of God, which crown do they have? They have the victory crown. They’ve got the crown of the overcomers. God says, I’ll give you a crown of life. That’s a victory. Crown chapter 19. The one on the white horse has many crowns. And they’re not the crowns of victory.

They’re the crowns of the King. They are the diadems. Okay. And so you see him and he, his eyes are like a flame of fire on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that no one knew except himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood. And his name is called the word of God. Now,

for anybody who knows John’s writing, you know who that is because John chapter one verse one in the beginning was the word and verse 14. And the word took on flesh and dwelt among us. John’s not leaving it up to guessing. There’s no guesswork here. John says, this is the word of God. Okay? His eyes were like flame of fire air.

His head had many crowns. His name was written that no one could read except himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood. And his name was called the word of God. And the armies in heaven clothed in fine, linen white and clean followed him on white horses. So you’ve got a white horse leading white horses. Now these armies in heaven,

who do you think they’re made up of? I think you’re right. Grace. Doesn’t go to battle with Rome with a bunch of angels behind it. He goes to battle with Rome, with people who do battle, according to Paul against principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this age. And he is the word of God. And we are the ones who give testimony concerning him.

And they are clothed in white. Now you go back over to chapter 16, chapter 16 says blessing or excuse me, behold, I am coming as a thief. Bless it. Is he who watches and keeps his garments. Those who are clothed in white over in, in this, the fifth seal, they’re the ones who, who endure the ones who die.

They’re given white roads, but it’s more than that. They’re given white robes because of their works. You see the bride clothed in white and her garments are made up of, Of what fine linen. But what are they clean and white. They’re the, The righteousness of the saints. Oh, these are the rights of the dead Saint, right? You know,

the people, the Catholic church votes on after 400 years, right? No, these are the living saints. The brine that Christ Mary’s, isn’t dead. She’s not in heaven already. She’s alive. She’s the church. She’s the bride of Christ and the, her righteousness now. And this is the great thing about righteousness. This is a great thing that we need to remember.

Although we struggle with, because we look at our righteous, this personally and go, I keep making mistakes. I keep sending, I keep failing. And so we look at ourselves as a blocked and blighted and struggling individual. And God doesn’t, God warns us to keep our garments. But we are first John chapter one verse, verse seven and eight.

Those who are washed in the blood of the lamb, we aren’t blotched and spotted. And we’re not the lambs that Jacob got out of the herd of his father-in-law. We’re the pure and Holy we’re the ones who were to come out of the, the herds of the Israelite on when they got the best. And they offered it to the Lord. It was to be the one without spot the one without blemish.

The one that was perfect. That’s the one they offered to God, you and me, we’re not spotted and dirty. We’re not blocked in Maine all. Sometimes we look like it, but not if we’re covered in the blood of the lamb. And so the one on the white horse goes to battle and following behind him are, is a multitude on white horses.

And they’re the armies of heaven in contrast to the armies of the beast. In contrast to the armies of hell, in contrast to the armies of Satan, they’re the righteous ones. I’m not in chapter 19 anymore. Hold up the armies of heaven or in heaven, clothed in fine linen and white and clean, followed him on white horses. Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that with it,

he should strike the nations. We read about the sharp sword that comes out of the mouth of Christ, way back in chapters, two and three. Interestingly, let’s not lose focus on the fact that Christ tells those churches, that if those, that, that he condemns them for their actions, he says, if you don’t repent, I’ll fight against you with the sword of my mouth.

Here’s his judgment coming upon Rome, but he warns churches. If you turn your back on me and you worship the beast, if you turn your back on me and you worship the harlot, if you turn your back on me and you worship sin and self and lust over me, you become my enemy and I’ll treat you like my enemy. I’ll fight against you with a sword in my mouth.

So out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that with it, he should strike the nations and he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. Isaiah chapter 11 speaks concerning the rod of iron and the TRIBE of David. He himself treads the wine press of the fierceness of the wrath of almighty God. So we, we noticed in the previous chapters with the harlot,

she was tried and her, her, her judgment and her desolation was tried out in the wine press of the wrath of God. We saw that in the bowls that we had earlier on, and now here’s Christ pictured is the one who’s doing it. He’s the one bringing this judgment. Okay. He had on his robe and on his thigh, a name written.

Now here’s why, you know, or here’s how you identify. I guess I should say what all those crowns are about. He’s on his head were many crowns, right? Why? Because he’s not King he’s King of Kings. He’s not Lord he’s Lord of Lords. He’s he’s above them all. But wait a minute. When he’s King of Kings,

why is it? Then that Nero came to the throne and started getting the, the, the Christians and lighting them up to, to light his garden. I thought he was King of Kings. Wasn’t he? King of Kings then? Yes, he was. And that’s the whole point. Even when it doesn’t look like it, even when it doesn’t feel like it,

he’s never given up his throat. He’s never given up his rule. He’s still King of Kings and Lord of Lords and he will judge. Okay. Absolutely. Absolutely. Then I saw an angel, so, all right, we’ve done this so many times before the victory ever happens. The victory is described. The rejoicing is described. The marriage feast is described.

All of this happens in the joy of victory in contrast to the city that’s fallen. That’s desolate. This destroyed hadn’t happened yet. All right, here we go. Here’s the anticlimactic end. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun and he cried with a loud voice saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, come and gathered together for the supper of the great God that you may eat of the flesh of the Kings,

the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and those who sit on them and the flesh of all people free and slave both small and great. Well, wait a minute. God’s taking out everybody. Oh, who did God warn about his judgment? Go back to all of those trumpets. All of those trumpets were partial judgments and,

and eventually they included what the whole earth, those who dwell on the earth, then the bowls who did, they ultimately include those who dwell on the earth. So now who is it? The birds are called to come pick over everybody. But it’s also this go back to chapter six<inaudible>. I went to chapter six of Romans that was too far chapter six,

verse 12. Then I looked and he opened the sixth seal and behold there was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair. And the moon became like blood and the stars of heaven fell to the earth. As a fig tree drops its late figs. When it’s shaken by a mighty wind, then the sky receded as a scroll, when it is rolled up and every mountain and Island was moved out of its place and the Kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men,

the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne from the wrath of the lamb, put the two pictures together. All those described here described over in chapter 19 and here they’re all hiding where in the caves and the rocks.

If you’re being attacked by a bunch of birds, where’s a good place to hide in the case of the rocks. But is it going to help them? No. Are the birds literally? No. Okay. The point is you have nowhere to go to escape from the wrath of God. The point is always, you have nowhere to go to escape.

The wrath of God, they will be judged and they will be feasted upon their destruction will be complete. Then actually no verse 19. And I saw the beast Kings of the earth and the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse and against his army. Okay. The one who sits on the horses, who Christ and his army are saints and the beast and his army and the Kings of the earth,

they all gather up and John sees it. Okay. So we’ve already read about him doing battle with the sword of his mouth. We’ve already read about him being victorious. We’ve already read about the destruction. We’ve already read about the birds of heaven being called in for the great feast. And now as it were back up and actually start the battle, okay.

That’s where we’re at. John finally sees the beast and his armies and they’re all here. They’re all right. Then the beast was captured. And with him, the false prophet who worked signs in his presence by which he deceived those who received the Mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive in the Lake of fire burning with brimstone and the rest were killed with a sword,

which proceeded from the mouth of VM who sat on the horse and all the birds were filled with their flesh, done two verses. There’s your whole battle. There’s your whole judgment. I told you they it’s high climactic. Now the one past, the one thing I do want us to pay attention to here is you remember over in chapter 14, verse nine,

then the third angel followed them saying with a loud voice, if anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his Mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the Holy angels and in the presence of the lamb and the smoke of their torment,

ascends forever and ever. And they have no rest day or night who worship the beast or in his image and who received the Mark of his name. We went over in chapter 14 and we looked at that and we noticed where it comes from, that comes from the, the imagery comes from the old Testament. It comes from Sodom and Gomorrah. It comes from a Z kill and it is the destruction of a nation.

It is God’s judgment, enacted fire and brimstone. And it looks like hell, but this isn’t how the beast and the false prophet aren’t cast down into hell. They’re cast in the Lake of fire. Well, wait a minute. I thought hell was like a fire. Not here, not describing what hell is or isn’t here. It’s not here. The context is the judgment on Rome and God didn’t take the whole planet and every free and every slave man and all those who dwell on the earth and every King and every,

and the beast and judge them eternally right then didn’t happen. This is old Testament, fire and brimstone. This is old Testament judgment. This isn’t the final Hill. This isn’t B because more stuff happens after this. Believe it or not. So if we’re getting the day of judgment here, we got a problem. Okay. And if it’s not the day of judgment,

it’s not hell it is God’s judgment on Rome. So the rest were killed with a sword, which proceeded from the mouth of him who sat on the horse and all the birds were filled with their flesh. Okay. So we’re gonna, we’re gonna put a peg there, but the judging continues Sunday morning to be continued.dot.in parentheses.<inaudible> Good. Amen. Good to see everybody tonight had,

you could get out. We hope there’s a good match. Listening on the phone or computer ever, how you’re doing it. And we’re glad to have everybody with us. We got some announcements on our sick Dorothy and Rodale Jones are Janet Jones, Robin woods and Laurie white and Terry Waitley is feeling better. Sandra Trammell, Francis Redmond’s daughters in Baptist. Collierville in room two,

24. And Francis is the only one able to visit her. Now Sandy’s in a lot of pain and she has an enlarged spleen and a stone, but they’re not sure where the stone is, where they say kidney stone or gall bladder or whatever. And she would have more tests tomorrow. And at some point she will have her explain removed. Well,

that’s all of our sick and all of our announcements. So if you would do it, get a song look, and Michael Dale is going to be singing devotional there and Cozort, and Joe would have the closing prayer. I thank you Just quickly. I remembered when I got here and then I forgot to tell him before he got up here and did the announcements.

Jessica is very sick, like very sick. And in a lot of pain, they gave her some medicine that really messed her up really bad. And now she’s having to recover from the medicine with more medicine that they gave her. Hopefully it doesn’t mess her up anymore, but please keep her in your prayers. She’s really not doing well at all. Our song before devotional will be number 230.

My voice is not back all the way, but I will do the best I can for you and for the Lord. Number two, three, zero worthy art thou, Where are the praise is Christ red. Where are the<inaudible>? Where the<inaudible> where the, the, where the<inaudible>, where the<inaudible> glory and ah, where the<inaudible> where the,

the, Oh Lord, may we come before the, was he being filled with<inaudible> wisdom, man? Ah, may we scribe the glory? And ah, the, the, Oh, Oh, the<inaudible> where the<inaudible><inaudible> the heavens things getting heavy. Where the, where the, ah, if you could please Mark song number 905 yield not to temptation.

That’ll be the song of invitation. Number nine, zero five, Psalm chapter 78, Psalm 78 in verse one give the year, Oh My people to the law, incline your ears. To the words of my mouth. Psalmus writer calls Israel to open their ears. Jesus uses this phrase. He, that hath an ear to hear, let him hear.

Som was writer says, pay attention, listen. And then he says this, I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known Jesus wasn’t the first teacher come from God who uttered parables. Parable was, was a story, an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, a throw beside a comparison in the old Testament,

there were parables, but there were also dark sayings of old. And those were Proverbs, parables and Proverbs and things. We have known. It’s almost writer says, listen, listen, and hear what you already know. But he doesn’t just say, listen. He says, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us, but notice this statement.

He says, we will not hide them from their children. Psalmus writer says you and I, we know these things because our fathers taught us, but we have a responsibility to pass them on to the children, their children. He says, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord and his strength and his wonderful works that he has done.

Psalmus writer wants us to remember. He wanted his generation to remember. He wanted those who had ears to hear, to remember what they had been taught, what they had been told, what they knew, but then they wanted them to pass on the things they had been taught, the things they had been told and the things that they knew to the next generation while each one of us is still alive.

There. Some, one coming along who doesn’t know what we know, who hasn’t seen, what we’ve seen, who doesn’t understand what we understand. And it is our responsibility to tell them what the Lord has done. And that goes for the Psalmus generation and every generation that’s ever been since then, we need to be those who proclaim the word of the Lord,

who teach the next generation. Because if we don’t, no one else will. If you’re here this evening and you’re outside, the body of Christ. Salvation is found in the word of God. Salvation is found in the Lord and it is the salvation of the Lord. That is one of those things that we are to declare to the next generation. If you’re here this evening and have an age of accountability and you have need to put Christ on in baptism,

you can do that tonight. If you’re a member of the body of Christ and you’ve drifted away from God, you can come back tonight. If you have need of the invitation, why not come now? As we stand in, as we sing<inaudible> he needs victory. Well, the two<inaudible><inaudible> dog passions,<inaudible>,<inaudible> us.<inaudible> save,

you know, to up you calm strength and<inaudible>, he is willing to a June. He well carry you through, Oh, with me, please. Their God, our father in heaven. We’re truly grateful into the, for the privilege that we’ve had this evening to come together, to stay to from your word, we pray father that we will always try to look to your word diligently.

Each day, we might be strengthened in our faith. Be strengthened as we go through life, we’ll be able to remain faithful until you we’re so thankful, dear father, that we have the blood of your son to cleanse us of our sins. And we pray father that as we go through life, that we’re able to reach others with the gospel, that we might always be mindful of the thoughts that were mentioned this evening,

from your word in Psalms, that we need to be teaching our young people, your word, and how they ought to conduct their lives and live their lives. They might be faithful to you and serve you and glorify you throughout the days. They have father help us to be mindful of those that have been mentioned that are ELL. And those that are in the hospital,

we pray that you be with the ones that had ministering to them, that they might do those things that are needed. Now we pray father that we might encourage one another as we have that ability on time that we might have strength in each other. And that we always try to reach out to those in this area with the gospel, bless us. As we continue to do your will help us each day that we draw closer to you and to one another.

And we pray for that home and have him with the Jesus. We pray. Amen.<inaudible>.

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11-08-2020 Revelation 18 (Class) + Zechariah 14 (Sermon)

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams, Revelation, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

Review Questions – Revelation 17

New Questions – Revelation 18

Automated Transcript

<inaudible><inaudible> We are in revelation. So encourage you to open<inaudible> Your Bibles to the book of revelation. We’re going to be in chapter 18. After we notice a few of the, a few of the questions from previous chapters. Did I go over chapter 16 questions yet? No. Okay. Hey Jay, could you find chapter 16 and bring me a copy of those?

Cause I didn’t bother to actually bring one up here. I thought I had skipped that one, but I wasn’t certain<inaudible>. There we go. Thank you. All right. So we’ll, we’ll go over by way of review chapter 16 and chapter 17 questions, and then we’ll get into chapter 18 for our class period this morning. It’s good to have the Rushmore’s with us.

It’s good to have the Warrens with us. If you get a chance to meet them today, they attended South Haven when, when we were there and we sat just, just a few apart, they, they sat right behind us at South Haven when we were at South Haven. So it’s good to have them hope everyone’s doing well. I talked with Terry Whitley yesterday and he said Thursday and Friday,

we’re no good at all. He said he barely got out of bed, but, but yesterday he, he was able to get up, get outside a little bit, do a little bit of puttering and, and whatnot. So he, he said, you don’t want this? What w yeah. He said, whatever else I, I know about COVID now.

He said you don’t want it, but his wife has basically had no symptoms at all. So somebody mentioned this morning, well, at least there was somebody there to take care of him. I said, well, that that’s, that’s valid. That’s valid. All right, let’s begin with a word of prayer. Our gracious father in heaven, we bow before you grateful for the day that you’ve given to us grateful for the life that we have and the opportunities that we have to serve you.

We are thankful for every day that we have and are mindful that there are those who will not see tomorrow, and then also mindful of the importance and the necessity of being ready for this life to be over. Because we have no assurance of when our life will come to an end where mindful of all that you do for us on a daily basis, we’re mindful of the things that you give to those who are good.

And to those who aren’t the sunshine and the rain and the beauty of the earth, and all of the things that you have provided in your creation, but we’re most especially thankful, or your son and the, his salvation that he brought to us by coming to this earth, dying on the cross for our sins. We ask that you be with us as we go through this period of study.

And through this worship hour this morning, may the things that we do be acceptable to you may the things that we teach, be in accordance with your will in accordance with your word. And may we grow closer to you in faith and in knowledge and an understanding each and every day, all this, we pray in Jesus name, amen, chapter 16 of revelation.

And if you need a copy of the questions or you’ve misplaced a copy of your questions, they’re back on this small table, right back here at the back of the auditorium, you can grab a copy of one of those now, and you’ve got plenty of time to do that. Chapter 16, question one, what was contained in the bowls given to the seven angels?

All right, we read in verse 15, it was the wrath of God, but we also see in, in the greater context that these will be plagues, but verse one, and the answer to that question is the wrath of God. Verse six, question two. What reason did the angels angel of the water give for bold two and three. Yeah.

Okay. So ball two and three, the second and third plague in this are similar to the Exodus plague of turning the water to blood. Except in this instance, you have the seas and the oceans turned to blood. And then as a separate item, you have the fresh water turned to blood, but the angel of the, of the water comes in and declares.

Here’s why this is retribution for the shedding of the blood of the saints and the profits. Okay. Question number three, for what people in the old Testament where water’s dried up so they could cross over. Okay. But in the old Testament, Israelites, okay. We, we talked about this. There’s two different possible applications looking backwards, but there’s only one group of people consistently throughout old Testament history where the water’s dry up before them and allow them to cross over.

And so this picture of the Kings of, from the East is seemingly a picture of God’s people. The alternative to that, because again, especially when you’re dealing with apocalyptic literature, you get a here, here’s this, this sign. And it’s like, okay, you got to kind of piece it together and hope you’re you’re headed in the right direction.

Sometimes the other option is the example of when the Mito Persian empire came and they diverted the Euphrates river because in the text, the Euphrates is specifically mentioned. They diverted the Euphrates river and went under the wall of Babylon and conquered it in one night. That also shares a lot of the fact that we have a reference here to Babylon over and over and over again,

throughout this chapter, chapter 17 and chapter 18, you’ve got this, this picture of Rome as Babylon. And so that would also meet the, the picture. But the old Testament example of those who crossed over on dry ground is consistently and Israelite or God’s people analogy in the new Testament does quote, I am coming as a thief always mean that we are talking about the second coming of Christ.

No, it doesn’t. Matter of fact, there are numerous times where the analogy of God coming as a thief. In other words, coming when people are unprepared coming at an unexpected time deals with a, shall we say, a regular judgment and not necessarily the end of time and such as is also contextually true in chapter 16, verse 15, chapter 16,

verse 15, question five, who is blessed, according to verse 15, All right. The ones who watch and keep their garments. And we talked about the analogy of holiness that is made earlier on in the book. We talked about the layout of seeing church and God’s description that because they have what they were doing. They were poor and blind and naked.

They fought, they were close, they fought, they were rich. They thought they had eyesight and they didn’t. God says you need to be prepared for my judgment. What is number six? What is the physical location in Palestine for the Hebrew word? Armageddon. Maketto okay. That’s that is the word for the location known in the, the land of Israel,

Asma ghetto after all seven of the bowls that mankind repent. No. Okay. So what you’re seeing here, what we’ve seen earlier is you see seven trumpets and earlier on in the book, and those seven trumpets are partial judgements, trying to get the people to repent and they don’t. And then you see, because they didn’t repent w during the partial judgments,

now God’s wrath is going to come upon them with full judgment. And yet they did not repent. Okay. Revelation, chapter 17 questions, according to verse one, what is chapter 17 about, Okay, But there’s it here in chapter 17, one of the angels who had one of the bowls comes to John and says, I’m going to show you something the judgment of the harlot that sits on many waters.

Okay. So chapter 17 is the judgment of the harlot, which we’re going to see in chapter 17. Verse 18 is also the great city. We’re going to continue that discussion into chapter 18 as well. Okay. So what is chapter 17 amount? It is the judgment of the great harlot. What did the King of the earth do with the, or the Kings of the earth do with the harlot?

Hey, they committed fornication. When you see this in chapter 17, it’s not really explained. It is explained more in chapter 18. So we’re going to spend some time talking about that in chapter 18. What kind of beast does the woman bribe Say that again? All right. A Scarlet colored beast. How many heads? Seven heads. How many horns?

10 horns. Okay. So the, the woman who’s, who’s pictured as a harlot who the nations have committed for an occasion with her. They are sorry. She is riding upon a beast. The beast, if you compare it to the, the different creatures that have been discussed already in the book of revelation looks most like the dragon. He looks most similar to the dragon earlier on in the book,

but she rides upon this beast and we have the seven heads and 10 horns brought forward, carrying forward. Some of the prophecies of Daniel, we talked about that last Wednesday. So we’re not gonna spend a lot of time on it. What is the woman drunk with the blood of the saints? Okay. Over and over and over again. You’re going to read this in this section on judgment.

You go back to chapter 16 and the judgment of the water turning to blood is because of the blood of the saints. You come over to chapter 17 and here’s the woman and she’s pictured, and she’s drunk with the blood of the saints, go all the way back to chapter six. And the very first time we really hear of judgment coming. It’s immediately following the cry of the saints going,

how long God are you going to allow this to go on? And they’re the saints who have died for the testimony of Christ. Okay. So this is a constant reminder. God is about judgment on Rome and on its persecuting power because of their treatment of the people of God. Okay. What was John’s reaction to seeing her? All right. He was amazed.

John is going to be amazed, but the one who’s with him says, don’t be, let me show you what occurs. All right. What do we read about the status of the beast in the past present and future three terms. All right. He was, he is not, and yet is okay. So there was a time when he was persecuting.

He’s not currently persecuting, but he’s about to begin persecuting again is what we’re, we’re getting there in that passage, beginning in verse nine. What two things are signified by the BESE seven heads. Okay. Seven mountains and seven Kings. All right. Seven mountains is a, is a declarative picture of Rome. The city that sat upon seven Hills and seven Kings of the emperors of Rome up,

up to this point. Okay. Up to and including Titus, the, the one that would follow what is the beast that was and is not. And this is directly from the text. What is the text? Say? It is the eighth. Okay. Over in Daniel, you’ve got 10 Kings initially. And then an 11th that comes up. John ignores three of those Kings,

because over in Daniel, those Kings were uprooted anyway. Okay. In John’s prophecy, drawing forward, Daniel chapter seven, you have seven that you begin with and then in eighth comes up. Okay. You’ve got a parallel there between what John is saying and what Daniel is saying, but it’s important to notice that the one who’s coming up when, when the beast comes back up,

the one that’s going to do the persecuting all the way, including back in Daniel, the one who’s going to do the persecuting is the eighth. Okay. That would be the mission now in, where am I at? Question number eight? What do the beast and the Kings or horns do according to verse 14. All right. They make war with the lamb.

Here’s the picture you’ve got. You’ve got Rome. And you’ve got this persecuting power, especially seen in, in the eighth King, rising up and they make war. But do they win? No. Okay. So what will happen to the harlot? According to verse 16. Okay. She’ll be made desolate, but by whom, okay. The 10 horns you go back to earlier on in the passage and you get this picture of the horns being the,

the Kings and the nations that Rome was allied with Rome didn’t fall because a great nation came against her. Rome fell from the inside. Predominantly it dealt with many Kings coming against her many, many nations attacking her, but Rome, the cage from the inside, out these Kings, while they had an Alliance with Rome. And while, while it was mutually beneficial,

they didn’t like her. They hated her. And they would make her desolate. Her own alliances would bring about a portion of her destruction. Then verse 18, who is the woman? The great city. Okay. So we go all the way back to Let’s see, lost the Go all the way back to chapter 11. We’re talking about the two witnesses here in chapter 11 and the witnesses,

the ones that have power over keeping rain from falling. And we get a picture of Elijah. We, we also have the one witness that has power over bringing plagues on the earth and turning water to blood and, and making the sun not shine. There’s a picture of Moses. Okay. But all together, it’s a picture of God’s people. When they finished their testimony,

verse seven, the beast that sends out of the bottomless pit, which over in 17, we’re reading about a woman who’s riding what a beast. Okay. So the beast that co sends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them and kill them all throughout, back in chapter 16, back in chapter 17, the woman is accused of what?

Killing, who the saints. Okay. So you’re, you’re not, and this is something to, to understand. When you go through revelation, you shouldn’t think about it as a chronological progression where chapter 11 happens. And then the, you know, God’s prophecies come about something that’s going to come later. And that’s chapter 15 and chapter 16. And then you don’t think about it in a current chronology or chronological progression.

There are things where God says, I’m going to do this, and then I’m going to do this. But all throughout it, you keep circling back. You keep circling back to the picture, the analogy of all the way back to chapter six, I’m doing this because of the persecution of my sayings. And so you see the beast come up, but you don’t see who he is.

And then you see later who he is, and then you see the other beast come up. And, but you don’t see really who they are. And then you get to chapter 17 and you get more clarity, but you kind of have to backtrack all the way back to chapter 11 to go wait a minute. Now let’s put the pieces together. Okay.

So it’s, it’s one of the difficult things. As you read these progression of prophecies, you’re not necessarily progressing further down the years of time. You’re just seeing a different picture and a more complete picture of what God is saying quite often. So when they finished their testimony, the beast that it sends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them,

overcome them and kill them. And their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Then those from the people’s tongues, from the people’s tribes, tongues and nations will see their dead bodies three and a half days, and will not allow their dead bodies be putting graves.

Those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make Mary this and send great gifts to one another. Because the two prophets who tormented those who dwell on the earth, okay? So here we are. We’ve got a picture of a city. We have three analogies, three different descriptions of the city. We’ve got Saddam and it’s wickedness. It’s fornication,

it’s infidelity. We’ve got Egypt, it’s captivity and persecution of God’s people. And we’ve got Jerusalem, the city of faults worship. Okay. It’s interesting that Jerusalem becomes the city of false worship as viewed here in this chapter, that is comparative to the false prophets that we see when the land beast comes up. Because again, you’ve got the three, the same three pictures coming forward in,

in the three beasts, because here’s the point Jesus Christ died in Jerusalem, but Jerusalem is not under consideration the book of revelation, but the city that was so ingrained in its religion that they won, except the giver of their religion is the epitome of false religion. They were so ingrained in their own worship. They’re temple, they’re this. And they’re that,

that when the one who gave them the religion to begin with, came to the earth, they put him on a cross. It is the epitome of false religion. Okay? So that’s chapter 17, chapter 17 and chapter 18 go together. Okay. This is kind of a package unit. There should be no chapter break here, but it’s probably good that there was,

we would have never gotten through all of it in one class. Anyway, chapter 18, verse one. After these things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority. And the earth was illuminated with his glory. This angel proceeds down from heaven. Again, John’s seeing this. This is, this is visionary. John sees an angel come down from heaven and his glory is such that what happens he’s brighter than the sun is okay.

Here comes an angel. He comes down to the earth and it is glorious such that it illuminates the earth. Okay? And he cried mightily with a loud voice saying Babylon, the greatest fallen is fallen and it has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit and a cage for every unclean and hated bird. This angel comes down from heaven and Reed declares.

The prophecy that’s already been made to somebody. Remember just off the top of your head, where that, that statement has already been made. Let’s see. 14, eight. All right. So let’s go back to verse six of chapter 14. Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation,

tribe, tongue, and people saying with a loud voice, fear God, and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment has come. And the worship of him and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the Springs of water. And then another angel followed saying Babylon is fallen is fallen that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

Okay. We’re taking the statement, the declaration from the, the angel and chapter. And now John’s going to see the fleshing out Of that prophecy. Okay. That statement. So he sees another angel come down and the same declarations made again Before we were, before the judgment started now where the judgments concluded. I mean, th Seven bowls have been poured out.

God’s judgment has come upon them. Now you’re Getting the complete picture. Okay. So you’re getting the before and the, after My Babylon, the greatest fallen is fallen has become a dwelling place of demons of prison for every foul spirit and a cage for every unclean and hated bird for all the nations have drunk the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Wasn’t that what we just read in chapter 42 SA same words.

You’re, you’re, you’re seeing the connection here. The King, The earth have committed fornication with her and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of our luxury. John’s going to describe as is given by the angel, this declaration Of why these nations did this banking Chapter 17. We’re told that the Kings of the earth committed fornication with this Charlotte,

but we’re not told why we’re just Hold that they became intoxicated by her. Well, now we’re going to get the picture. Now we’re going to see why Is it that God Wrath is going to come upon them and why God’s wrath is going to come upon the great city And what it was that caused them to get in bed with this city. Okay.

For all, All the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, verse four. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her. My people lest you share in her sins, less you receive of her plagues. So there’s a, a cry that comes out a declaration that comes out to the people. God,

leave, come out, back in Matthew chapter 24. Jesus tells his disciples that When they see the signs of the destruction of Jerusalem Coming, they’re supposed to do what leave. He said, if you’re out in the field, I’ll go back home. If you’re off the mountain, don’t come back down. If you’re up on the rooftop, get out.

When you see this happen, you leave. Because if you delay, your judgment will come to your, you will be caught up in the judgment. Okay? So not talking about the end of time and this isn’t either here. There’s an opportunity for those who are Righteous to leave before the destruction comes on the city. Okay? So he says, I heard another voice From heaven saying,

come out of her. My people, as you share in her sins, less you receive of her plagues for her sins have reached to heaven and gone has remembered her iniquities arrows. A number of times in the old and new Testament where we are Told God remembers something a few times, That’s a positive statement. God remembers the good things someone did, but overarchingly that’s a God’s judgment.

And his wrath Staff has been filled up. God Remembered had been storing up as it were all that. And now it’s time to wipe the slate clean through judgment. Okay. So when you, God remembered it, it wasn’t though. Oh God, that it slipped God’s mind. No, no, no, no. That’s not what you’re reading. Okay.

You’re bringing about your book, Bringing forward. All of the things they’re guilty of as if in court, as if to a judge, if you’re, you’re not sitting there watching all of the things happening and trying to no, no. You’re rehearsing before the judge. Why the person’s guilty? Why the judgment is just why they’re going to receive a, Just punishment.

Okay. There’s your picture of remembrance here? So for her Ends have reached to heaven and God has remembered her iniquity render to her just as she rendered to you and repay her double. According to her works in the cup, which she is mixed, mixed doubles for her. So often we read in scripture, the way you judge, You will be judged the way Yeah.

You measure towards someone else. It will be measured to you Again and here you have The way she has done, the others will be turned back on her And double, okay. For all that she’s done in the measure and that she Fight herself and lived luxuriously in the same measure, give her torment and sorrow for. She says in her heart, I sit as queen and am no widow and will not see sorrow.

The declaration of the great city, the declaration of Rome is I’m impenetrable. I I’m queen of all the earth here, A harlot, a degenerate who’s declaring herself, queen Jane and she’s queen only because of the influence that she’s had to cause people to sin. But she believes nobody’s going to judge me. Nobody can touch me. This kind of fixture occurs in the old Testament.

By other nations. I believe tire is, is one of the nations where that idea over in Ezekiel is used of tire, declaring yourself untouchable, Except she wasn’t. And they found an entire found out from Alexander. The great, the untouchable Can be touched. God is going to tell Rome, you think you sit as queen of the world. You’re not verse eight.

Therefore her plagues will come in one day, then Death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire for strong is the Lord. God who judges her now all throughout this chapter, you’re going to get the, the Babylon parallels. Okay? The great city Babylon, those ones Already been mentioned, but Babylon fell in A year and a night.

So you’re going to keep Seeing the analogy of Babylon drawn forward throughout this passage. So in a day, Death and Mourning and famine, verse nine, the Kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her. When they see the smoke of her burning. Now, wait a minute. I just thought back over in chapter 17,

the Kings who were allied with her, Devoured her and made her desolate. They did, But they’re not mourning because of her desolation. Watch why their morning, okay. They’ll see the smoke of her burning and they’ll look, they’ll weep and lament, standing at a distance for fear of her torment saying a last of last, the great city of Avalon that mighty city for in one hour,

your judgment has come. So they declare her judgment. They declare it’s, it’s rapidness standing, and the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her for no One. Watch this buys Their merchandise anymore. Are they weeping and lamenting because they love the great city. No they’re weeping And lamenting. Cause they just lost a whole lot Of money. Thank Got ships full of product.

And they take them to Rome and they sell them. And now Rome, as<inaudible> as the picture is, as these merchants in these shifts are, are sitting there on the Mediterranean sea as if it were sitting back and watching Rome burn, they go, who are we? Who are we going to sell it Junk too? Who are you selling this stuff to?

Our city just, just got, just got desolated at. They’re not, they have no concern for the city. They have no concern for, For Rome. They have concerned for their own riches. Okay. This is entirely selfish mourning. And the merchants of the earth verse 11 will weep and mourn over her for no one buys their merchandise anymore. Merchandise of gold and silver,

precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple silk and Scarlet, every kind of Citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of the most precious wood, bronze iron and marble and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense wine and oil flying flour and wheat, cattle and sheep horses and chariots and bodies of the souls of man.

Everything from slaves to every precious thing that you can imagine. Every aspect of commerce is what this city is involved Then. And all the world sits back and watches Because when she falls, so do they, they get him economically, but her desolation, her judgment is complete. Okay. So the fruit of Your soul longed for has gone from you and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you and you shall find them no more at all.

Here’s the woman, the city, the CA declared herself, queen declare that no sorrow would ever touch Her. And immediately following That picture is all of those who were in bed with her. Declare You’re gone. No joy will ever touch you again. Okay. The merchants of these things who became rich by her will stand at a distance for fear of her torment,

weeping and wailing, and saying alas, alas, that great city, which was clothed in fine linen purple and Scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls for in one hour such great riches came to nothing. Every ship master in all who traveled by ship sailors in it, many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance and cried. When they saw the smoke of her burning saying,

what is like this great city. They threw dust on their heads and crying out weeping and wailing and saying, alas, alas, that great city in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by our wealth for in one hour, she has made desolate, rejoice over her. Oh, heaven. And you Holy prophet or Holy apostles and prophets for God has avenged you On her.

So In the myths of all the war of, of mourning in the midst of all the weeping and myths of all the anguish in judgment and desolation, Who gets to rejoice the apostles and the prophets and the saints, you take that all the way back to chapter six. When God says you rest for a little while and I’ll show you, what’s going to happen to her.

Okay? What’s going To come about by way of judgment for the persecution of his people, then verse 21, then am I, the angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea. There is one passage in scripture talks specifically about a millstone being cast into a sea thing. It’s Luke chapter 17, where Jesus says, do not offend one of these little ones for IQ calls.

One of these little ones to stumble into sin. It would be better for you that a millstone were hung about your neck. And then you be cast into the sea. Then you cause one of these little ones to stumble, kind of have this picture here of here’s Rome. Here’s the great harlot. Here’s the one that seduced the world to sin. And God says,

I’m bringing you to destruction and that I’m casting you in the sea. And I’m going to catch you as a millstone. Ain’t nobody ever pulling you back up. Your judgment is final. So the mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea saying thus with violence, the great city Babylon shall be thrown down and shall not be found anymore.

The sound of harpists musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsmen or any craft shall be found in you any more in the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore. And the voice of the brine and the brine or bride room, and Brian shall not be hurting you anymore for your merchants were the great men of the earth for,

by your sorcery. All the nations were deceived and in her. Okay? So, so now you get this picture. She’s cast into the sea as a millstone, she’s drowned in the sea. And when you take something and you uproot it kind of like when big storm comes by a great big giant tree falls, what do you see for the first time?

What was underneath it? And that’s kind of the picture you have here. When the gray city is uprooted, winter judgment comes, winter. Desolation is made apparent. And then as it were, she’s picked up and cast into the sea. As a millstone, you look underneath, you look on the inside. You see what’s always been hidden. And verse 24 says,

and in her was found the blood of profits and saints and of all who were slaying on the earth. You find judgment comes. And then as that judgment is enacted, you find God picturing and here’s her guilt. And it’s readily apparent. This is why she was guilty. And this is why this judgment was called for. Okay. So that’s chapter 18.

Again, as we go through this, remember we’re not supposed to be looking for a time when, when Rome fell in a day, we’re not supposed to be looking for a time when Rome was picked up and cast into the sea. We’re not supposed to be even looking for a time where no flute was ever played in the city of Rome ever again.

No, these are pictures. These are pictures that carry forward. A lot of old Testament imagery and a lot of old Testament judgments to say, God is saying, I’m going to be done with her. And isn’t it interesting that to this day, one of the things that you can go see is what’s left of Rome. There are a lot of nations that have come and gone on this earth where you can’t go find anything that’s left,

but Rome, you could go see she fell and she’s gone the power, the world power, that one declared by Daniel. God said, I’m going to raise up a kingdom made without hands and it’ll never be destroyed. And while the church has gone through torment and difficulty, anguish and pain and persecution everywhere on this planet, at some point in time,

she still exists and Rome is gone. God did exactly what he said. Okay. That’s what revelation has always been about. God wins. And so to his people. Okay. Thank you for your attention. We’ll go over chapter 18 questions on Wednesday.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Good morning. Welcome to Collierville church. Christ’s Sunday morning worship service. It is really good to see each and every one of you out here this morning,

we have several visitors with us and I want to thank you for joining us to worship our God this morning and visitors. If you don’t mind, if you have an opportunity, please fill out a visitor’s card and either leave it on a Pew or do it to one of the men so that we have a record of your visit. And again, we are so glad that you chose Collierville church Christ to worship God this morning.

If you did not pick up your Lord’s supper, it is on the tables at the back of the pews. Here it be a good time. While I finished the announcements to go get that. If you did not get it already on our sick list, please continue to remember. Joan Springer, Dorothy Wilson, and Janet Jones. As they continue to work through their ongoing problems,

please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Terry and Patricia Wheatley, you know, have been out with COVID-19. Patricia has very few signs of it at all, and she’s doing really good. Terry is getting better, but he says, it’s one of those things. You do not want to get it, but he is getting better. He said yesterday,

he felt pretty good, but he says, you don’t want to get it. If you’ve not had it, don’t get it. Period. Crystal crystal Rushmore has have some, having some soul shoulder problems. It is a possible torn rotator cuff. They’re going to do the physical therapy route first and do some more examining and checking on her to see if they can’t determine exactly what is wrong with her.

So please keep crystal in your thoughts and prayers and then Vince it to Darrow who’s Jenny’s. Dad is in the hospital and he has pneumonia. So please keep Vincent to narrow in your thoughts and prayers for the man. We’ll have our monthly business meeting tomorrow night here at the church building at seven o’clock. If you have any agenda items, please write it on the board out there or give it to Jay.

He is our contact person for this quarter. Shelby County election commission has notified us that they are going to use our building from November 18th through the 3rd of December, because on December 8th, there has to be a runoff election. And that’s for one of the alderman here in Collierville is what I understand. So there’ll be using our building again for voting so that in mind,

as you come to a Bible study on Wednesday evenings, check out the news, why gospel call meetings? Several people that we know very well are going to be on there presenting different topics in the next few weeks here, Gary and Glen Colley are both doing it. And then TJ and BJ Clark are all speaking. So be a good time. Pick up one of those flyers and call in and listen to that at nine o’clock Monday through Friday,

also, don’t forget about the truth. FM radio stations, a lot of great lessons and great singing going on 24 hours a day, seven days a week on that we have a card I’ve already put the card on the bulletin board, but I got the contents of the card here on my notes. So that reads Collierville family. We want to thank you for your love prayers and support during our family crisis,

the financial help you so generously gave our family, made something we thought impossible possible. We are so grateful to have a church family like Collierville love the Dale family, Michael Jessica, Brandon, and Christian. That’s all of our announcements this morning. Our worship service today. Song service is going to be between Aaron and Joel. They’re going to take care of that for us.

The two of them combined opening prayer, Louis Rushmore. One of our visitors is going to do that for us. Lord supper is Jay Schaffer. Sermon will be Aaron Cole, it’s art and closing. Prayer is Tommy O’Neil. Thank you. Take your songbooks or use the overhead. If you will. And let’s turn to number 991, 991. This is my father’s world.

We’ll sing all three verses. This is my fault.<inaudible> all nature’s seeings. And round me rings music<inaudible> rocks and trees of skies.<inaudible> the Lily white, the<inaudible>. I hear him pass. He speaks to me every way.<inaudible> nah, though, the wrong seems off so strong. God is a rule<inaudible> jeez, us who die shall be side is five and Dan ham be Whoa,

Let us pray. Our heavenly father, as we come before the, this hour on the morning of this day, at the beginning of a new week, we do do so humbly and recognizing that thou art, our God, our creator, or thou art, our greatest benefactor, our friend, if we are obedient to the gospel of Christ and continue therein,

we pray heavenly father that all we do this hour in our, our efforts to worship, they will be acceptable. The time that the divine favor would overshadow us, we pray that as we’ve gathered a worship, we might be able to remove from our mind, the various distractions of life. We might be fully involved in every aspect and facet of our worship.

Our only desire might be that we can do what we do to please the, to glorify thy name. We pray heavenly father aware of the various circumstances in life that affect us all that we might be able to address the challenges that face us, whether they be health challenges, or economic challenges, family challenges, whether they be challenges of any, of,

any, of any origin that we might be able to, to be the eye children, to conduct ourselves accordingly, to have the appropriate, to conduct and response and words coming from our mouth. We pray thy blessings upon this nation in which we are. We pray that the unrest it has been so far flung might come to an end. We’re mindful of the pandemic that has not only affected this country,

but it has affected the countries throughout the world. We pray that my bed satisfactory conclusion to that also as a song we sang so indicated, we recognize that our, our, the creator of all that is in likewise, that ruling over this earth also rules and the kingdoms of ma’am. We pray that we might, as I people recognize by hand in the affairs of man and not to contest the way in which that would unfold.

I will in these things, but rather we would concentrate and being the church concentrate on being at eye children. We pray that the liberties that we now enjoy, that permit us to assemble as we have this morning to worship in spirit and truth might not be changed or hindered in any way. We pray that around the, that opportunities might have bound for the gospel of Christ and that other children might be able to assemble and to worship and to serve.

We are mindful of many of our family that are ill. We pray for their recovery or mindful that there are families that are facing bereavement. We probably, they might be up with didn’t confident too. We know that in various parts of the world, persecution against people continues on. We pray that they might be relieve that persecution of possible. And certainly I’m able to go forth as they face.

These also challenges in life. We pray heavenly father that they will be done in earth. We pray might be a part of the unfolding that providential will we pray for wisdom. We pray for understanding. We pray for patients. We’ll pray. Heavenly father that I would reserve for us, a place in heaven. We probably that will be done in all things.

We might be a part of. I will. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Next song will be number 496. Oh, listen to the wondrous story. 496. I hope you all know this one. If not join me in any way it occurred to me. I don’t know that we’ve sung this one here since I’ve been here. So it’s a good,

it’s a good song though. 496. Oh, listen to a one dressed. Ori counted one song among a loss. Yet one came down from heaven’s glory saving us awful. Cause who’s saved us from me.<inaudible> what did he<inaudible> no. Angel could his place have a gun? Hi. Yes. Hi though. He, the loved one on the cross voice<inaudible> was one of the God had three.

Who’s a saved us from me to no laws. What did he do?<inaudible> in heaven into see<inaudible> well, YUSA Renda to this<inaudible> you too. Shall come to know his fave. He will save you. Save you. Who’s saved us from me. Did he do, where is he now?<inaudible> We got through that one. Okay. 715,

715. We’ll use this song to repair our minds for the Lord’s supper. The churches one found a fish is jeez, Hold on just a minute. Just a minute. There’s two versions of this song and I’ve got the wrong one. Just a minute. We’re just going to change songs. So it takes your, take your songbooks. If you will,

and turned to number 314, just blank. That screen. If you don’t mind, 314 beneath the cross of Jesus, We’ll sing the first, second and fourth verse Beanie Kroll song. Jeez, I fan would tag my<inaudible> wrong with and we are and home with, and<inaudible> from the<inaudible> the noon tide. He<inaudible> Oh, safe fan happy.

Or if you tried and we say, Oh,<inaudible> and Avon’s justice me mean as to the Patri.<inaudible> so see my Savior’s Ross to me up to<inaudible>. I<inaudible> shine than the us and shine<inaudible> to the Whoa, go by too. No, no again, no, I lost my<inaudible>. My only shame, my glory, all the fuck wrong.

We now come to a very special time in our worship service, where we remember the death of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. I want to just read a short passage from Matthew, where Jesus instituted this, what we call the Lord’s supper. And in Matthew chapter 26 and verse 26, it starts and as they were eating and I might add that this eating was the Passover that they had traveled to Jerusalem from Galilee.

He Jesus and his disciples to celebrate this Passover feast, no small journey, 60 miles. They walked probably all the way. Probably took them two, three days at any rate, they were in Jerusalem and as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and break it and gave it to the deposits. The pot disciples and said, take eat.

This is my body. And he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink. Ye all of it for this is my blood of the new Testament, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you,

my father’s kingdom. So let’s displace all of our worldly thoughts and focus our minds upon the cross. As we partake of these emblems heavenly father, we’re indeed grateful for the privilege. We have to assemble about this table to participate in this Lord supper, to remember the death and the significance of the death of your son, Jesus, as we partake of this bread,

which represents his body, there was sacrificed on the cross, help us to remember the pain and anguish that our sins caused. So in jesus’ name that we pray amen, and all lives matter. Father, as we partake of this fruit of the vine, which represents to us that blood that was shed for our sins, help us to do so in a way that was fitting and that’s acceptable in God’s side,

it’s in Jesus name. We pray, amen. This concludes the Lord’s supper. We find this a very convenient time to offer our prayers for the many material blessings that have so richly been bestowed upon us. Let’s go to our father in prayer and acknowledge those. Yes, heavenly father. We’re indeed grateful for the many material, things that have so richly given to us in this country where mindful of all these gifts truly coming from you,

help us always to acknowledge the true source of these. And we thank you father for your great generosity. It’s in Jesus name. We pray as we give back a portion of what we’ve been blessed with, You would be marking your books for number nine Oh nine. That would be our song of encouragement. Number nine Oh nine will be on the overhead.

I believe I’m not sure now we’ll be singing number 71 as the deer 71, pass a pass, pour the water. So my<inaudible> my heart desire and I long to worship you<inaudible> and I lore to worship you. I watch more than go<inaudible><inaudible> ever. And the, my I<inaudible> my strength. My<inaudible> Now Aaron, good morning. Take your Bibles.

If you will. And open them to Zechariah Zechariah chapter 14, the closing chapter of this book, As you’re turning there, want to for just a moment, remind us where we started in Zechariah Zechariah and begins what we have recorded of his prophecies chapter one, verse one in the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah.

The son of Berekiah, the son of<inaudible> the prophet saying the Lord has been very angry with your fathers. The very first words from the prophet Zechariah to Israel bearing in mind, they went into captivity. They were in Babylonian captivity for 70 years. Then they returned, they came back to build the temple, and yet Zechariah comes to them. After they had failed to build the temple,

they laid its foundation. Then it sat dormant for 16 years and they had guy in Zechariah come to get the work back to completion. And the very first words we have from Zachariah is the Lord has been very angry with your fathers in the tone and tenor of how Zachariah’s prophecies begin. They’ll end, therefore say to them, verse three, thus says the Lord of hosts,

return to me says the Lord of hosts. And I will return to, you says the Lord of hosts do not be like your fathers to whom the former prophets preach saying, thus says the Lord of hosts turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds, but they did not hear nor he read me, says the Lord, your fathers, where are they?

And the prophets do they live forever yet? Surely my words and my statutes, which I command my servants, the prophets. Did they not overtake your fathers? Notice what Zechariah begins by saying, number one, the Lord’s been very angry with your ancestors. Number two, don’t be like them, or you’ll get What they got. Number three, don’t think that That your ancestors made it out without my word being fulfilled upon them.

The word of the profits overtook them verse the end of verse six. So they returned and said just as the Lord of hosts, determined to do to us, according to our ways and according to our deeds. So he has dealt with us. The, the closing statement Is exhibit Exactly what God said he would do is exactly what he Did. So Zechariah begins his prophecy by reminding them of where they came from,

reminding them of what God’s done in the past so that they can have a surety that when he speaks to them and delivers what God is telling to them, now they can be just as assured that what God says about what’s to come will come to pass. And with those words from chapter one, chapter 14, verse one, as we get to the conclusion of this three chapter prophecy that began in chapter 12,

we find behold Old, the day of the Lord is coming And your spoil will be divided in your midst for, I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem. The city shall be taken the houses rifled and the women ravaged half of the city shall go into captivity. But the remnant of the people shall not be caught, shall not be cut off from the Zachariah.

The Who is encouraging them to build. Hold on. I am okay. Just got quieter. The profit that Is encouraging them to build Is now the profit that says God’s going to bring destruction again. Here’s Zachariah. Okay. And here they are in the midst of this and in the midst of this prophecy. And again, they’re being told Jerusalem is going to be destroyed.

So where’s the hope, Eh, w where’s the, where’s the, to go on. Where’s the encouragement to continue building. If they’re already being told long before the city is now a walled city again, long before the city is strong again, long before the city is prosperous. Again, God’s going to come and destroy it again Here in Zachariah. God makes it clear.

This nation will reach a point where I will end my covenant with them. We, I saw that over in chapter 11 and chapter 12 and chapter 13 in the prophecies concerning the death of the Messiah. You remember how many times Jesus in his parables and in his illustrations would bring up the idea of a vineyard owner and the occasion where Jesus would talk concerning the vineyard owner that would leave and go on a journey and leave his vineyard in the hands of those who were to tend the vineyard and the vineyard keepers,

where to keep it. And they were to, they were to provide for it and they were to care for it, but he was going to return. And so he sent back a servant to see how things were and they beat him and sent him back. They didn’t receive the servant. They didn’t listen to the servant. They didn’t treat the servant like the master.

They instead abused him. So he sends back another servant. And again, the same thing happens. So Determines this time I will send my son because they will honor my son and he sends his son And they kill him. And then jesus’ question is what will the master do to those vineyard keepers? When he returned The arms and the answer’s clear, he’s going to judge them.

He is Going to destroy them because of what they did to his son, Israel, One through whom the Messiah would come is the one God would judge for the messiahs Death for. They would be the one who would put him on the cross. And yet in this prophecy concerning Jerusalem, again, being judged, again, being destroyed, you have Again,

a remnant or with God, there always seems to be a remnant. There Always seems to be those, no matter how small their number might be. If you think about places, Sodom and Gomorrah, where three, Make it out alive, No matter how small the number is, there’s a remnant that will be faced<inaudible> to him. So God says here in the end of verse two,

but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. And here’s where you see a transition. At the beginning of the prophecy, all the nations are going to come against Jerusalem and Jerusalem is going to be destroyed. But a new Jerusalem Comes a new Jerusalem made from a remnant of faithful people, a new Jerusalem. And interestingly, at least my understanding of the passage,

if this is applicable to the new Testament church, this is no longer the old Jerusalem. This is no longer the rebuilding of the walls. This is no longer the laying of a ground for a new temple. This is no longer the Jerusalem that would again, someday be destroyed. Pre-ACA rye, the prophet that bridges the old and the new Testament. He is,

It is the prophet that talks about the old Israel and the old Jerusalem, and then a new one where everything’s different. And I want us to see in chapter 14, the new Jerusalem, wherever Things different because this Jerusalem is no longer about the Jews. Notice what we read, but Remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. As a result,

verse three, we have now God’s judgment upon the nations. God, doesn’t let this stand. God uses the nations to draw, to destroy Jerusalem. As he’s done in the past, he did it with Babylon and he’ll do it again. But God in turn will turn around and judge the enemies of his people. Then the Lord will go forth verse three and fight against those nations.

As he fights in the day of battle. And in that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of olives. One of the Mount of olives is one of the Hills outside of Jerusalem is interesting that a number of times you find Jesus going to the Mount of olives. You find the Mount of olives is one of the primary places where Jesus would spend his time.

When he was in the vicinity of Jerusalem. It is the Mount of olives that Jesus will come from. As he enters Jerusalem, victoriously riding upon the donkey. It is the Mount of olives. He will go back to after he and the apostles, leave that upper room on the night of his bedroom. Jesus Christ we’ll find his place Standing upon Mount Zion,

standing upon Jerusalem, standing upon the Mount of, and here you have the Mount of olives pictured as a place of deliverance. Notice what we read and the Mount of olives shall be split into from East to West, making a very large Valley. Half of the mountain shall move toward the Northern half of the, toward the South. Then you shall flee through my mountain Valley for the mountain Valley shall reach to Azale.

Yes, you shall flee. As you fled from the earthquake. In the days of use IAH, the King of Judah, God says using again, this is figurative language. This is, this is apocalyptic language language, as Zechariah would use it quite often, he says, here’s the Mount of olives. And the Lord is going to stand on the Mount of olives.

His feet are going to be on the Mount of olives. And yet from there, deliverance comes and God says, I’m going to split the Mount of olives in half. Now. We’re not supposed to be looking for a time in history where we see the fulfillment, where God takes the Mount of olives. It splits it. And it has a matter of fact,

if you go over the land of Palestine, you can go stand on it right now. So what is he saying? There was a time when Israel stood On the shores of the red sea And there was an army behind them and a sea in front of them. And they could go no further. And if they stayed, they die. And if they tried to go back,

they die. And they By themselves had no hope. And yet Moses said, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. And he was Raised his rod and he stretched it over the red sea by the commandment of God and the water Parted And stood up on either side. And the people Walked through on dry ground. God, again, delivers his people.

God, again, provides And opening Dressing. When you go over to Matthew chapter 24 and Luke chapter 21, as you read about what Jesus said would come in the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus makes it clear. There’s going to be a, a number of signs that lead up to the destruction of Jerusalem. And there’s going to be a time at which it will appear as though there’s no escape,

even for the righteous, But the righteous, knowing what Jesus said, we’re to Be ready because he said there would be a way of escape. There Would be when they saw those signs and opportunity for them to escape. And historically We know there was Because Rome would come and they would besiege the city of Jerusalem. And then that occurs in late 80,

68, early 80, 69. And they’re there and they’re besieged around Jerusalem. And then for a time, The Roman army backs off and people can again, move in and out of the city, Josephus and other historians tell us that when That occurred, every Christian left or Islam that didn’t come back, they saw the opening and they went through it.

But the majority of the city did not. I think that’s what he’s talking about here. I might be wrong, but God said, I’m opening a path of escape and you’re going to flee through my path. If you belong to me thus as the Lord, my or thus the Lord, my God will come. And all the saints with you, it shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light.

The lights will diminish. It shall be one day, Which is known to the Lord neither day nor night. But at the evening time, it shall happen That it will be light. Now, One of the things we need to remind ourselves as we go through Zechariah is he uses this phrase In that day, in that day, in that day. And as we’ve mentioned before,

we’re not always dealing with the same day. There’s different parts of this prophecy as in the book of revelation where John will see one thing happen and then he’ll turn and he’ll see another thing happened. And it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re happening in order. This, these are visions and these are aspects he’s seeing it’s going to come in that day, that there will be No light.

We’re not. And always going to find a clear fulfillment of this type of Elliptic prophecy. But it is interesting that there was a Day where the sun stopped shining that had A direct connection with the destruction of Jerusalem, because while Jesus hung on the cross, it became dark as if the sun stopped shining. And then the graves were opened and the Veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom.

And this interior and said, surely This was the son of God. Maybe that’s what it’s talking about. Maybe not, but what you do see here is God making it clear. I’m in charge the Sun doesn’t shine. When I tell it not To. And in there The evening when it’s supposed to be dark. And I say, it’s going to be light,

it’ll be light. So you can be assured that I’m in control. And in that day, verse eight, it shall be that living water shall flow from Jerusalem. That’s one of the reasons why that phrase is one of the reasons why I believe this may have a connection to the crucifixion and may have a connection to the cross. In that day. It shall be that living water shall flow from Jerusalem,

half of them toward the Eastern sea and half of them toward the Western sea in both summer and winter is shall occur. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day. It shall be the Lord is one and his name One Zechariah comes forth with this prophecy. And he says, there’s a day that’s coming where living waters will go forth from Jerusalem.

Jesus would tell the woman at the well, in some area as he was there. And he said, give me a drink from the well John chapter four, and the woman would say, how is it that you being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman. And Jesus said, if you knew who I was, you would ask of a drink from me.

And I would give you a drink of waters of life. And you would never thirst again. And she wanted that water. She wanted a drink, but she questioned how in the world could he possibly give her a drink when he had nothing to draw Water out with, Jesus will make it clear to her that the way Waters that he offers are spiritual waters of life.

There was not going to be a day in which Jerusalem opened up a found in the fount, went East on the fountain, went West and water was supplied to all the world from inside Jerusalem in physical water. But there was In spiritual life in acts chapter one and acts Dear one, Jesus, as he is preparing to ascend back to the father will speak to his apostles and being assembled together.

Verse four, he commanded them not to From Jerusalem, but to what Wait for the promise of the father, which he said, you have heard from me for John, truly with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy spirit. Not many days from now, therefore when they had come together, they asked him saying, Lord, will you,

at this time restore the kingdom to Israel. Notice Here are his disciples. And they’re looking for a restoration of the, But he makes it clear. They misunderstand. He said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons, which the father has put in his own authority, but you shall receive power. When the Holy spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Sumeria and to The end of the earth,

truly the fountains of water of life. The word of God would flow from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. So we see in verse nine, the Lord shall be King. He’s not going to be King over one, small nation of Israel. He’s not going to sit on a literal throne and physical Jerusalem and reign over a literal nation of Israel.

He is King of King And Lord of Lords and the Declaration here at the end of verse nine, the Lord is one and his name one, God makes it clear. There’s no one else Who stands next to him. There’s no one else who’s above him. There’s no one else who’s beside Him. No one is like, God like the Lord, like Jehovah and verse 10.

And, and the land shall be turned into a plane from Geba to Rehmann South Of Jerusalem. Jerusalem Shall be raised up and inhabited in her place here. You’re seeing almost the picture of what John the Baptist is declared to do in Isaiah chapter 40. When we’re told that the way would be prepared for the King and the declaration is take the mountains and make them flat,

take the valleys and fill them in, make straight the way of the Lord. And yet here you see Zion Mount Jerusalem. The city of David raised Up all The land around them becomes flat. All the Hills, all the valleys are all filled in. It’s one flat plane, but up above at all Is Jerusalem. Now remember Jerusalem back in verses one and two is being told,

you’re going to be destroyed. Now, here we are Jerusalem. You’re going to be lifted, But it’s not the same Jerusalem. It’s not the physical place. It is spiritual Jerusalem. And they’ll all the land shall be turned into a plane from Gibbon to rain, to Ramon, South of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s gate to the place of the first game of the corner gate.

And from the tower of Hananel to the King’s wine press, basically laying out the borders of the city. The people shall dwell in it and no longer shall there be utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem. Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet.

Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets and their tongue shall dissolve in their mouth. It shall come to pass in that day that a great panic from the Lord will be among them. Every one will seize the hand of his neighbor and raise his hand against his neighbor’s hand. Judah also will fight a Jerusalem and the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be gathered together.

Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance. Such also shall be the plague on the horse and in the mule and the camel and the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps. So shall this Plague B I think it’s beneficial for us, especially those who have been in the adult class to be Minded that God doesn’t always speak concerning plagues in this type of judgment,

in literal terms that would bring about a physical plague The world, but he does speak in terms of old Testament, judgment being brought forward. God Says I’m going to destroy all the nations that came against my people. Everyone that comes against my people Will be judged. And he uses the plagues. He used Is a picture of those who die while standing up as if they’re walking through and they just Decay right then and there.

But then verse 16, as God looks at this new Jerusalem, something about it is very different. Something about Jerusalem has changed and here’s the declaration. It shall come to pass that Everyone who has left of all the nations, who came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year To worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of the Tabernacles Stressing.

The feast of Tabernacles was one of those fees where once a year, the people were to come to Jerusalem and they were to dwell Intense. They were to dwell in Tabernacles in booze. It was called the feast of booths, feast Of Tabernacles, feast of weeks. They Were to come together and they were to rejoice. They were to praise God for all that he had done.

They were to recognize the Lord for all that he had done for them. And they were to bring the first fruits of all their harvest together as an offering to God. And yet that command was only ever given to Israel. That was never a command in the old Testament, with the old covenant, with the old people of Israel, that was never a command to the Gentiles.

Oh, they were to share with those who were in their house and the servants that were within their Gates and the stranger that was within their Gates. They were to share with them, but it was not a commandment to them. The Babylonians had no commandment at any point in the old Testament to come and to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. No, But God’s people did.

And you remember that the fountain that went out from Went to the entire earth. Yeah. And the King who’s the King in Jerusalem is the King of the entire earth. Something’s changed. It’s no longer in Israel. That’s in one small nation. It is an Israel with Jerusalem at its head and Christ at its head that is over the entire world World.

And God says, you’ll remember When you used to be sojourners. See, because that was the thing about the feast of Tabernacles. The feast of Tabernacles was there in the Israel. I year to remind them, there was a, The time when they were so jurors there, It was a time when they didn’t have a home. There was a time where they wondered about looking for a home.

There was a time where they relied upon God and him alone. Now every nation, every nation Celebrates a time of soul journey. And Every nation recognizes without God. They’re nothing. Every Nation comes together to Worship the Lord. This isn’t Israel anymore. This isn’t a one nation covenant people. This is a covenant people made of Free nation. And every tongue,

It shall be that whichever of the families of earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King. The Lord of hosts will err on them. They’re the King, the Lord of hosts. I can get my tongue tied on them. There will be no rain. If the family Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain.

They shall receive the plague, which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to the feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not keep the feast of Tabernacles. Now, How is it? If this is old Israel under the old covenant, God can condemn a nation for not keeping a feast.

He never commanded them to keep The answer is there’s no way God can do that. God will not judge you for a commandment. He never gave you. God never commanded Egypt to come to Jerusalem, to worship until we’re not talking about physicals Russo. So it’s interesting as we kind of make full circle back to the waters, the living waters that is Jesus was standing there with a woman in Samarria at the weld,

talking about living waters. The discussion came I’m up on where to worship. She, He said, the Jews say that we are to worship in Jerusalem, but our fathers worshiped on the mountain And Jesus said, there’s coming a day where the location of worship won’t be the important factor. But instead the heart of the one who worships will be okay, The heart and the obedience of the one who worships in spirit and in truth for God,

seeks such to worship him. Now, wait a minute. Does God only see those to worship him that belong to the children of Israel? No. Does God Only one, those who live in the land of house and to worship him? No, but he does require that everyone who worships him In the days of the Messiah in the days of the church,

in the days of Christianity, in the days of the kingdom of Christ, everyone must worship him recognizing this. And it Can’t be stated any better than Paul stated It wrong. Chapter three, verse 23 for all, have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and Romans chapter Six, verse 23 for the wages of sin, His death. But the gift of God is eternal life in the feast of Tabernacles,

the virus. First time they came into Palestine as they come across the Jordan river, as they do battle and they begin to take the land Of Israel. God Makes them a promise. When you come into the land, you’re going to receive fields. Didn’t plant, You’re going to receive crops. You didn’t water. You’re going to live in houses. You didn’t build in cities.

You didn’t make. And God Makes it clear. He provided All of those things. And they were to remember when they were so generous and had nothing, that everything they had came from him. And so God expands here in Zachariah, the commandment that every nation, Egypt and every other nation Egypt is just simply the, the applicable illustration here comes together.

Not in literal Jerusalem, not in The physical city walls of Jerusalem, but In spiritual Jerusalem, in the church, in the body of Christ to remember, they’re still just sojourners. They’re still just in this life waiting for the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises in eternal life. In that day, he says holiness to the Lord. Declaration goes out, at least in the King,

James new King, James it’s all caps holiness to the Lord. Declaration goes out. This is God’s decree holiness. This righteousness is what I want Holiness to the Lord shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yes. Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts.

Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. And in that day, there shall be no longer. There shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house Of the Lord of hosts. And you go, all right, what, what happened to the Canaanites? And where did they come in? We’re going to end the book with no Canaanites anywhere around why?

Go back to chapter one, verse one, verse two. The Lord was very angry with your fathers, but what did they do? They came into a land that God said you destroy and judge every person In this land, because their iniquity is full because of their idolatry that they have committed. And their iniquity has brought their judgment. You do not Let them live.

God was going to use Israel to judge a people that he said your Up. Now, Israel would come in in the historical event and they wouldn’t do it. They didn’t fulfill what God commanded. They didn’t judge the Canaanites as the instrument of God, in a complete sense, they allowed some of them To live. But Here as Zechariah concludes his picture,

his prophecy to Israel, he reminds them all the way back of the anger. God had it, their fathers, because God said, if you allow the Canaanites to live, here’s what they’re going to do. They’re going to turn your heart away from me. And they’re going to cause you to worship their idols. And they’re going to bring about your destruction.

So here In this verse, don’t understand this to be, there’s this one group of people, these Canaanites, and God doesn’t want any of them to worship him. God doesn’t want any of them present. Yeah. Canaanites symbolize something. Just the way the Egyptians did the Egyptians symbolized captivity, that Knights symbolized idolatry. Now remember go back To the previous,

verses the declaration in verse nine, the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day. It shall be the Lord is One. And his name one Hitomi of idolatry is the declaration. God’s just one guy Among many, but no more. God Says I will make it clear. And it will be true of all those who appear before me in holiness that I,

the Lord One, there will be no idolatry among my people. Well, there will be no Canaanite Eights in the house of the Lord of hosts. You and me, as we close this book of Zechariah, we need to examine ourselves. Where’s our heart Is our heart set on God and him alone, or is our heart set on the things of this life?

Have we determined that we will be sojourners In this life, doing everything we can to be prepared when this life is over? Because Hebrews chapter nine, verse 27 still makes it clear for every person there’s coming a day when they will be judged. When this life is over and they will stand before God and judgment, are you ready? Zachariah carries a lot of pictures that are sometimes hard to be understood,

but it carries one simple message. Israel, your fathers departed from me and I destroyed them. And Israel, your descendants are going to depart from me and I’m going to destroy them, but you can be faithful today. If you’re here this morning and you’re outside the body of Christ, you enter into the church, the Jerusalem of God, the Mount Zion of the Lord,

the people of God, the kingdom of the Lord that spans the entire earth. You enter that kingdom by dying to sin and being immersed in water to rise up, to walk in newness of life, believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God. Repenting of your sins, confessing the name of Christ and being immersed in water for the remission of your sins.

You can have the waters of salvation today, and then on you can spiritually be written holiness to the Lord, but you can also choose not to. You can also choose not to tomorrow or the day after or for the rest of your life, but you need to understand this judgment’s coming. Judgment’s coming for everyone because there is one King and there is one law.

And by our actions, we will be judged. If you have need of redemption salvation, you can have it today. If you’re a member of the body of Christ and you’ve become like Israel and you’ve turned your back, you’ve gone after other things, you’ve put this life ahead of the life to come. You need to change because there will be no Canaanites in the house of the Lord.

You’re here and you have needed the invitation. Why not come as we stand? And as we say, There’s a Two have, if you don’t mind, give us a chance after services to get to know you better and know, we’re certainly glad that you’re here. Our closing hymn will beat number 10 15. Jesus loves the little children. And as we think about this song,

I know we think about young people quite often, because that’s kind of what we think about when singing it. But you know, we are the little children of God and no, we need to think about where we stand today and what we’re doing today and how we’re living today. Particularly in this time of turmoil in our nation. Remember that God loves us and he’s there for us.

And that’s how we gain our strength by saying this. And then we’ll have a closing prayer.<inaudible> all the children.<inaudible> red and yellow, black, and why they are precious in his sight jeans.<inaudible> We thank you for the beautiful fall weather that we’re in, enjoying our heavenly father. We thank you for the freedom that we have to gather together as your children and to worship the prayed.

Dear Lord, it would forever stay that way. We pray for leaders throughout the whole world. Pray that they might turn to your great and Holy word to lead people by our heavenly father. We pray for each of the sick mentioned here today. Probably that if it be the wheel, they might soon be able to rejoin us to worship our heavenly father.

We thank you for our visitors today. We pray that they might have safe passage in their travel, be with each one of us. Dear Lord, as we leave here, strengthen us against sins and temptations of this world. These things we ask in Christ’s name. Amen.

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10-04-2020 – Sunday AM Class and Worship – B.J. Clarke

In Bible Classes Videos, Live Streams, Sermons by Aaron Cozort

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Yes. Test, test. I agree. Like, okay. Well, I want to, I want to wish you a good morning and tell you that Tisha and I are both very, very delighted to be with you, although we’re sorry for the circumstances that bring a sheer way. Sorry to hear about Aaron and what he’s going through with this pain. Certainly hope he gets to feeling better soon. And I told the editor telling me it’s not a young pup anymore. That it’s only young people that should be trying to get out of trees like that. But some of us older folks, it takes us a while to catch on to the fact that we’re not as young as we used to be. I also to thank you for the support that you’ve given to the Memphis school of preaching over the years, we couldn’t do what we do without good folks. Like you providing us with the opportunity to help train men, to preach the gospel. And I know with reference to Michael Dale, he’s under the weather too this week because of a stomach virus. And so I’m having to be in town. Most of my appointments have been canceled in 2020. I haven’t done a lot of traveling, although it’s starting to pick up a little bit again. And so it was a thrill for me to be able to come over and be with you. I wonder if you’d stop and think with me for a moment. Some of you are old enough to be members of the church for decades. And I wonder how many Bible classes do you think you have attended in your lifetime? How many hours of Bible study would you guesstimate in your mind that you have actually attended over the period of your lifetime? If you start, when you’re small and mom and dad take you to services and then you keep going your whole life, literally hundreds and even thousands of hours of Bible study can be represented. Now, if I ask you, can you tell me the number one thing that stands out to you after all your hours of Bible study? What’s the number one thing you remember learning in Bible study? I’m sure that you would probably say there’s so many things. It would be hard to narrow it down to just one thing, but what I want to do for just a few minutes this morning in this Bible study period, is explore with you the power of even one hour of Bible study and how revolutionary that can be. And to prove this to you. I want you to go back with me about oil to the sixth century before Christ or 600 years before Christ during the time of a man by the name of Josiah. And if you’ll go to second Kings chapter 22, I would remind all of us that it was a new Testament, Christian named Paul, who said that the old Testament was written for the learning of the Christians, that Rome it’s certainly written for our learning as well. And as we explore second Kings chapter 22, when we start off, we see Josiah is only eight years old when he begins to rain, he is in that position to reign and he rains a total of 31 years. And the Bible talks about his mother. And then look at the overall assessment of Josiah that is given to you in may. And second Kings 22 two. He did that, which was right in the sight of the Lord. He walked in all the way of David, his father. He turned not aside to the right hand or the left. And then when he was 26 years old, this is the 18th year of his reign verse number three. So he was when he started we’re 18 years into his reign. So we’re now Josiah is 26 years old. I wish we had more 26 year olds with a heart of Josiah. And I’m glad for the ones we do have you’ll notice when he was 26, he actually sent Shay fan the son of ACLI, the son of Michelle and the scribe to the house of God saying, I want you to go up to Hilkiah the high priest. I want him to keep a record of, or some the silver that is brought into the house of the Lord. And so long story short for the sake of our time here today, while they’re in the process of fulfilling that task, they find a book. And if you’ll drop down to verse number eight, you’ll see that he’ll carry the high priest says to Shay fan the scribe. I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord, and then he’ll CAG gives it to Shay fan and he reads it Shay fan the scribe then comes to the King verse nine and he’s reporting what had happened. We found that we gathered the money that was found in the house and cetera, and he’ll cry. The priest verse 10 is delivered me a book. And then Shay fan starts reading it before the King. And we’re not told exactly what section of scripture was read in the King’s ears that day, but we know that it changed him. We know that it absolutely revolutionized the nation in good ways. Positive ways. This hour of Bible study was going to be a moment of tremendous importance in the life of Judah. You’ll notice the reaction of the King in verse 11, when he heard the words of the law, the book of the law, he rent his clothes. He’s hearing a section of scripture that moved him emotionally. It is not a pleasant section of scripture. It’s one of those severity passages. You know, Romans 1122 says that you and I ought to be holed the goodness and severity of God. And as you and I think about defining God, I know he’s good. He is so good. I also know that there are times when he has to be severe because of his holiness. And here on this occasion, Josiah is reading a section that has to do with it has to do with the punishment that was coming to Israel or Judah in particular here. And so the King does something. I want you to number one, notice he was moved by the study of God’s word. And I’m not asking for a show of hands here, obviously, but can you think back to moments in your life where you have studied the word of God, either in private, personal study or in the midst of a gospel meeting or sermon that was preached or a class and that it has moved you, it has brought you to tears. It has caused you to feel a sense of need to change. This is the humility that Josiah possesses. And one second thing I’d like for you to notice. Josiah does not just want to take this without thinking about it. He wants to double check his understanding of the word. So look at verse 13, he tells him to go and choir the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah concerning the words of this book that is found. I want to double check this great is the wrath of the Lord kindled against us, because look at his willingness to admit even this, our fathers have not hearkened under the words of this book to do, according to all that, which is written concerning us. It’s never pleasant for anyone, any one of us to have to suggest or admit that our ancestors might not have followed the word of God, the way they should have, or that some loved one has not lived the way they should have. That’s not easy for any of us, but there are times when we have to be that willing to make such a concession. And Josiah says, look, based on what this book is saying, we are not right. And our fathers were not right and we need to fix it. And so the confirmation is then given in verse number 16, thus say the Lord behold, I will bring evil or punishment upon this place. Upon the inhabitants thereof. Even how many, All the words Of the book, which the King of Judah has read. Now, I’d like to ask you, is God’s temperament ever hair-trigger. Is that ever one of these deals where he’s just had a bad day and he’s going to take it out on the human race? No. Is there a reason assigned for this severity of God? Look at verse 17 because they have forsaken me. What’s the very first commandment of the 10 commandments under which these people lived very first commandment was what thou shall have no other gods before me. They had not listened. They were actually burning incense to these other gods verse 17. And God says, this provokes me to anger with all the works of their hands. And therefore my rash shall be kindled against this place shall not be quenched, but watch, watch what happens when a man receives this word humbly to the King of Judah verse 18, which sent you to inquire the Lord. Thus showed you say to him as touching the words, which you’ve heard then verse 19, because dine heart was tender. And thou has humbled ourselves before the Lord. When thou heard us, when I speak against this place and against the habit in Sarah, that they should become a desolation that occurs and have rent that close and actually wept before me. I have heard of the, I’ve heard the says the Lord, and I will gather the end of that fathers. And you’ll be gathered to your grave in peace and your eyes. Won’t see all the punishment or evil that I’m going to bring upon this place. And so Josiah’s humility extended his life of peace with God. In fact, God says, Josiah, I’m still going to do everything I said I was going to do, but because of your humility and receiving my word, I’m going to put it off until after you’re dead and gone and stop and let that sink in for a moment. One man’s humility and righteousness was a blessing to the nation as a whole. And God withheld the judgment sooner than he would have. If it hadn’t been for Josiah’s humble attitude. What a tremendous man, Josiah is. In fact, I want you to go to second Chronicles. This is a parallel text to what you’re reading here in second Kings. And I want you to see in second Chronicles, chapter 33, the Bible tells us actually second Chronicles, 34 is what I mean to say, the Bible tells us about this same man, Josiah. And I want you to notice in verse three, what it says he did when he was 16 years old. I know, you know, that text, remember that create or winter was supposed to do that in the days of our youth, right? Those Josiah. Do that. Remember how old was he? When he started his reign, he was a co Regent reigning at the same time as someone else. And so not required to make all decisions at that age, but he starts officially at age eight. Now let’s ask this question. How old is he? According to second Chronicles, 34 in verse three. It’s the eighth year of his reign and eight plus eight is he’s 16, 16 years old. And what is the Bible say while he was yet young? He began to seek after the God of David, his father. And then when he was 20 years old, the 12th year of his reign, he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, the groves, the carved images, the molten images. And as the 20 year old, he helped break down the altars of Baylor him in his presence and the images that were on high above. He cut them down and he had actually made dust out of them and spread them on the ashes of the brute kid, drawn spread the ashes on the brick kid, drawn, let it flow away. Get out of my sight to get that out of here. We don’t need that strikes me that yesterday. And, but believe me, what I’m about to say is not a criticism of sports and college football. I enjoy watching that very, very much. And every Saturday, 20 year old kids and above, or around that age, get out on the field and do things that make the highlight reel that night. Look what this guy did. Look what this guy did. They’re 20 years old, some of them, and what is it that makes them famous. They can throw a ball. They can catch a ball. They can block, they can tackle. They can run. They can sack. They can kick what made Josiah stand up at 20 years old and friends, isn’t this what we need in this world. 20 year olds, 40 year old, 60 year olds who have this kind of humility and mentality that says, let’s get rid of everything that doesn’t honor. God let’s do that. So that’s what they do. Verse four, they broke down the altars of all these idols in his presence. And he burnt the bones of the priest upon those altars. Now, this is interesting because 345 years earlier, you remember in first Kings 13, there was this young prophet who came to King Jeroboam and he pronounced a judgment upon him for his idolatry. I want you to go back to first Kings 13 for just a moment. I want to show you something that shows that God, even though centuries may pass between what God predicts and the actual event happening. God keeps his will. He keeps his promises. He never fails. In first Kings chapter 13, the Bible says in verse one, that there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord and the Bethel Jeroboam, who was an idolater is standing by the altar to burn incense. But he cries against the older, this young prophet does and says all altar altar, thus say the Lord behold, a child shall be born into the house of David Josiah by name. Now we think it’s remarkable. And it is that Jesus’s birth was predicted seven centuries. Actually, even more than that, Isaiah seven is around seven centuries before Christ, but we need not forget. There are some other fascinating prophecies in scripture. I want to ask you to name the president of the United States, 345 years from right now. I’d like you to tell me his or her name and what they will do. That’s going to be of significance 345 years from now. Anybody. I have no idea. If the United States of America will still be, or this world will still be here 345 years from now, though. I hope and pray that if the world is still here, that this country will still be here and serving God in lore Holy ways, but for God to nail down the fact that 345 years later, a man by the name of Josiah would do what this man, Josiah, according to first Kings 13, is going to offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon these talking to the altar men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee. And sure enough, what you and I are reading here in second Chronicles, chapter 34 in verse five, he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars and cleanse to Judah and Jerusalem. And I’ll tell you, what’s fascinating about Josiah. He’s the King of the Southern kingdom, which is primarily Judah and Benjamin absorbed into it. These places you’re about to read of in verse six, Manasseh that’s Northern kingdom stuff. Ephraim verse six Simeon had started out in the South and Ben kind of absorbed into a lot of different areas and had no longer maintained their tribal identity. A NAFTA lie. That’s a Northern kingdom. Territory’s here is here’s Joe Tsai, exerting positive influence over a kingdom. He’s not even the King of One hour. Bible study can change the world around you for the better. If you take that hour of Bible study and humbly received the word that you learn. And the Bible says in verse number seven, that he broke down the altars, the groves, he beat the graven images into powder, cut down all the idols through the whole land of Israel. And then he returns to Jerusalem. He is determined to do whatever he can do as far as God will allow him to extend his influence. And then when he’s 26 years old, verse eight of second Chronicles, 34, that’s where again, they find the book of the law and he is the one who’s willing to receive it. I want you to drop down to verse number 27. I want you to see in second Chronicles, 34, 26, actually second Chronicles, 34, 26. This is what the prophet is sends word back to Josiah. You tell Josiah verse 27, because then heart was tender. And you did humble yourself before God, when you heard his words against this place and against the inhabitants thereof and you humbled by myself before me and you did, Rindge your clothes and weep before me, I’ve even heard the also say the Lord, I would like to ask this question, Okay, Do you? And I see anything’s happening in our country that bring us to tears. That causes us to feel a sense of great sorrow. And let me ask this question. Can’t even one of us can a group of us feel these things be moved by these things, pray about these things. Receive the word of God and try to get the word of God to others. Can we change the world around us, by our actions and our attitudes? Yes, we can. And notice Josiah look at verse number 31. What he does. He stood in his place. Second Chronicles, 34th. And first thing he did verse 29. I should have told you, he sent first and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem said, everyone come this hour Bible study that it had as made him want to spread this word to others. So he convenes an assembly of all the elders and the people of Judah and Jerusalem. And then notice what he does. Talk about leadership. See this verse 30, the King went up into the house of the Lord, all the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levis, all the people great and small. And he read in their ears. All the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the Lord, Josiah. Now that you’ve found the word of God, what are you going to do with it? I’m going to get me a big assembly. As many people as I can. I’m going to command everyone to come to Jerusalem and then I’m going to go up and I’m going to read those same words to everyone. Everyone needs to hear the same words that I just heard. And I’m going to be an evangelist to make sure that the word of God gets told that is the action that he did. And so picture him verse 31, standing in his place and then making a covenant before the Lord, before the group he’s promising, he’s going to walk after the Lord, keep his commandments, his testimonies, his statutes, how much with all his heart and with all his soul to perform the words of the covenant, which are written in this book, he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it and say, you will, you do the same. Here’s the commitment I’m making to keep the covenant of God. Will you make that same commitment? That is the action and the attitude of Josiah and look at what he does in verse 33. He took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel. And they made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord, their God not idols and all his days, they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their fathers, Josiah. One of my very favorite Bible characters, because watch what happens in chapter 35. There’s a Passover that is kept by Josiah. Now, this is interesting. According to scripture, the Passover was supposed to be kept on the 14th day of the first month. Now has the had preceded Josiah as a King. And he had actually to his credit said, let’s observe the Passover, but they were not able to get everyone sanctified and purified in time. And so they followed the teaching of numbers and they actually were able to keep it in the second month. But that was not the ideal time. That was not the real originally prescribed time. It’s kind of like if you want to use an illustration that we’re familiar with, someone might not be able to make it for Sunday morning services to worship with the whole group. And I’m talking about those who are healthy and able to get out and about. And so maybe they have a sick child, they have a flat tire on the way here. They are something that keeps them from being here at the normally scheduled service. And so then at a second service later in the same day, still the first day of the week, they partake of the Lord’s supper. And yet the next Sunday, their ideal goal is to be there, you know, for the morning worship service and to be a part of this. And they’re not deliberately trying to miss Josiah does something that even has a cat didn’t do. He restored the Passover back to the original time. It was intended to be kept. And in fact, if you’ll notice in second Chronicles, 35 in verse, number one, Josiah kept a Passover. They killed the Passover on the 14th day of the first month. Now zoom in, if you will please, on the statement that is made in verse number 13, they roasted the Passover with fire. According to the ordinance, they’re following the word of God and verse 18, there was no Passover like to that captain Israel from the days of ready, Samuel, the prophet, neither did all the Kings of Israel keeps such a Passover as Josiah kept and the priests and the Levi’s rights and all Judah and Israel that were present and inhabitants of Jerusalem question, did Josiah have a different book than they had? No. Why didn’t these others who had the same book observed the Passover in the same way that Josiah did? Because that’s what I’m telling you. He, his heart was so focused on doing exactly what God said do in the way God says do it. He so humbled to try to do whatever God says that he sets an example for the rest. And there was no King. None of the Kings of Israel ever kept a Passover like Josiah did. And he was the one who led the way in observing this and doing what God said to do. I want you to go back to second Kings 23 for just a moment. Hold your place in second Chronicles, 35 for the end here. But I want to go back to second Kings 23, and I want to get a little more specific. I’ve shown you right now. Let’s see where we’ve been so far. Number one, we’ve seen Josiah hearing the word. We seen him double checking the word to make sure that he’s really understanding those words and incidentally, whom does that remind you of in the new Testament, double checking to make sure this is really what it’s saying. Who do you think of in the new Testament? Yeah, the noble Bereans who, what search the scriptures. But we often skip to that part and skip over. Maybe we don’t intend to skip over the first part of acts 17, 11. Do you know that before it ever says they searched the scriptures daily, it says something about their humility and bind. They received the word with all the, remember the language readiness of mind. Does that sound like Josiah? When they read those words to him, those condemning words, does he say, I’m not accepting that if you can’t preach me a positive sermon, then get out of here. His idea is, listen. If that’s what the word of God says, I need to know it. Now I need to double check that and make sure I’ve understood that correctly. And so he sends for information and that message is confirmed. And then he, we see him spreading the word, convening the assembly, getting everyone together and making sure that everyone’s on the same page. And then we see him keeping his, making a pledge tool Bay, the word in front of others. He sets the example and then we see him keeping his promise to do that in second Chronicles, 34. But if you go back to chapter 23, look at the specific things he removed. He eliminated everything he, that he could not find approved of in God’s word. Look at second Chronicle or second Kings rather, I’m sorry. Chapter 23. And look at verse two, he went up into the house of the Lord, and this is a reiteration of what we read in second Chronicles, 34, but it gets a little more specific. I would like you to note that even the small and the great are there and he read in their ears, all the words of the book of the covenant, all of them, I know some preachers and I tell our students this. I said, listen, don’t be that preacher, that every time people get up and go to services, they think, well, let’s see what we did wrong this week. And we’ll just get blasted again from the pulpit week after week after week, we’re not doing this. We’re not doing that. We’re not doing this. I said, second. Don’t be that preacher that gets up. And it’s always sugar and spice and everything nice. And there’s never a challenge. There’s never a warning. There’s never an exhortation. There’s never anyone who needs to be reproved or rebuked. It’s always sugar and spice and everything nice. Now, which of those is the right way to be, to always preach only the positive and never the negative or to all this preach only the negative and never the positive. Tell me which of those two is correct or are either of them correct? What you want is what a blend? Listen, a car battery has a positive pole and what a negative pole and do they both have a function. They both have something to do. Yes. And so our preaching ought to have a sense of positivity and negativity combined. As long as it’s coming from the word of God, Josiah is one of those individuals who says, look, if that’s what the word of God says, I want to do it. And I’m going to live according to God’s word. And so when he finds out what God wants, look at what he starts doing. He starts removing idolatrous items from the temple that were put there by his kinfolk, before him, he starts eliminating those things. And verse number four, carrying the ashes. Last part of the verse out into Bethel, put down the aisle. He gets rid of the idolatrous priest. He says, you’re out of a job all but we’re priests. No, you’re not, not here. Not going to be priest to an odd God that doesn’t even exist. No, he put down the idolatrous priests, verse five, whom the Kings of Judah, that’s his kin who proceeded him, had ordained to burn incense in the high, in the cities of Judah. He says, you’re out of a job. Verse six. He brought out the Grove from the house of the Lord. They had actually, they had actually turned the temple of God into an idolatrous worship center. And he took that out of the temple. He brought it to the Brook kid, Rome burned it at the Brook kid, drone stamped it small to powder and cast the powder on the graves of the children of the people. Look at what he does in verse seven, broke down the houses of the sodomites that were by the house of the Lord. That influence did not need to be near the temple or anywhere in sight. So he got rid of the filth that was taking place in the neighborhood of the temple, where God was supposed to be worshiped. And then verse eight, he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah defile the high places where the priest had burned in since all the way from Gabby to Beersheba and broke down the high places of the Gates. And he defiled verse 10. He defiled Tulsa with which is in the Valley of the children of Hinnom. Now let’s stop here. This is not going to be pleasant, but let’s let’s address it. You know what the Greek word for hell is in the new Testament. You probably heard this. I’m sure get henna. It is hearkening back to the Valley of Hinnom. What happened in the Valley of Hinnom? This is where parents would actually take their small children and put them on top of a figure that had been built with an opening in between the arms. The arms would be built like this to hold something over a fire. And here is a child that has put in those arms and a fire is built underneath it. And the child is burned alive as a sacrifice to a God. That’s not even real, doesn’t even exist. That’s sick. Who would ever do that to a child, a friend. I don’t want to be mistaken at what I’m about to say, but I won’t say it hopefully lovingly and compassionately and firmly all at the same time, there are barbaric things happening to innocent children in this country because of some who were determined to extend a right that God never gave. And that is the right to abort, a child deliberately and with purpose, for the purpose of not this, isn’t like going to the doctor and trying to have a baby. And unfortunately, complications develop and the child doesn’t make it. This is not that this is a little deliberate choice. We say, look at these barbarians, taking children and burning them alive. How could you be? So barbaric, one of the methods of abortion that is approved in this country, it’s approved as being used in this country is a saline abortion in which a saline is injected into the womb and the saline has a corrosive effect and it burns the skin of the child inside off of its body. And about 24 hours later, the mother gives birth to the child dead. It’s called a candy Apple baby by some, because the outer skin has been burned away. You tell me that that’s not barbaric. You tell me that that shouldn’t be on our minds. As we think about the folks that are going to lead our nation, where we live protecting the children is always been an important thing for any government official to do. And your side does just that here in second Chronicles. And second Kings, I said, we’d close out with second Chronicle. So I want to go back there very quickly with you. Look at second, Chronicles 34, or make it 35 and verse 25. This also give you a little perspective as to where to put Josiah on the prophetic timeline. What does your Bible say about who lamented for Josiah? And he died, who, who stands out as having lamented his loss, his passing, Jeremiah, the prophet, Jeremiah lamented for Joe Tsai, all the scene men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their Lamentations to this day, made them an ordinance in Israel, behold, they’re written in the laminations and the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness. According to that, which was written in the law of the Lord, his deeds first and last behold, they’re written in the book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. It strikes me as I close years ago, many, many, many centuries ago, Josiah was introduced to a section of scripture that changed him. That caused him to go out and change others and change the, And here we are studying centuries later about this very man’s experience with Bible study and what it did to him and his nation. Can we leave today with this one hour of Bible study and be moved to be more like Josiah in good ways, and to imitate his excellence and to change the people around us as we first change ourselves, can we do that? We can. And it’s a true blessing to be able to study this man. One of the greatest men of the old Testament. Sure. Still a man, but a man of humility who said I will change and I’ll do everything I can to get others to do the same. And what motivated that study of the word of God? Good morning. Welcome to the Collierville Sunday morning services here at Collierville church Christ. It’s great to see each and every one of you and those of you that are unable to attend that are either on the dial in or watching on the live stream. We welcome you. And we can’t wait until the day comes that we can see everybody assembled here. Again, worship our Lord to our visitors this morning have special. Welcome to you. And thank you for choosing the Collierville church of Christ to worship God this morning. And we have a couple of special guests with us here today. BJ Clark and his wife, Tish are here. BJ will be bringing us a message this morning, and then Tim Boswell and his wife, Hannah are also with us today. And Tim is going to lead our song service for us this morning. So thank you all for joining us today. Other announcements, if you did not pick up the Lord’s supper, please take this opportunity to pick it up. It’s on the tables in the back prepared for you for the, when the Lord suppers taking the day are sick. There are many of on our sick lists, so let’s please remember Janet Jones. She’s still in the Memphis Jewish home. She may be coming home this week if her improvement continues. So that’s good news for Janet. Pam chafing is with us this morning. She is still in the recovery process from her back surgery, but she’s doing better. And her doctor has kind of let her go on, you know, do as she can and get out. So it’s great to see Pam with us this morning, Dorothy Wilson is having some very high blood pressure issues. So please keep Dorothy and your thoughts and prayers, Sylvia pass is going to have another nerve block procedure. That’s coming Friday to try to resolve her back problems. So please keep Sylvia and your thoughts and prayers. Michael Dale is not with us this morning. He has a virus of some type. It is not the coronavirus, but he does have a virus. And so he had to stay home. So please keep him and their family and your thoughts and prayers, and naturally Aaron, our preacher. You only had his surgery on Thursday on his wrist to set his wrist after he broke his wrist. And he’s in quite a bit of pain from that. So please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he goes through his recovery process. Other announcements Nesbith church of Christ have a gospel meeting October 4th, which is today through the seventh. We have a flyer up on the bulletin board. If you’re interested in details on that, the 45th annual spiritual sword lectureship at Getwell church Christ here in Memphis, starts on the 18th of October and goes through the 22nd. The flyer is on the bulletin board. Also with all the details for that nationwide gospel meeting for the call in the flyers are out there on a table. So if you’ve been doing that or if you’re interested in what that’s all about, please pick one of them up. That is Monday through Friday evenings at nine o’clock each night. There’s a call and it’s about a half hour long Bible study on a telephone powder children’s home pantry item for the month of October is Velveeta cheese. And the last announcement is reminder for the men. On Monday, October 12th at 7:00 PM, we’ll have our monthly men’s business meeting. We do have a sheet on the board out there to bulletin board for agenda items. So if anyone has anything that needs to be addressed in the men’s business meeting, please put that on that sheet. So we can talk about them in our meeting our services this morning song leader, as I said will be Tim Boswell, opening prayer. We’ll be Jay Schaefer, Lord supper. We’ll be Joel caisson. Our sermon will be brought to us by BJ Clark and a closing prayer will be Terry Sanderson. Thank you. Good morning. Our first song. Listen to this morning. It’s going to be song number two. Number two, We praise thee O God for the son of for Jesus. now God dying. The glory. yeah. Oh man. Yeah, dine the glory. we praise thee. Oh God. For the spirit who has shown us? the glory. Hi. Yeah. Oh man. Yeah, the glory revive us and Oh, glory and praise to the lamb. That was slain. glory. man. no glory. all glory and praise to the God of all grace who has bought us and saw a sign guy. Dad ways. Yeah, the I’m the glory yeah. Oh man. Yeah, the glory revive us. revive us again. Philly charged with five from Hollina. Yeah, the glory Hollin yeah. Oh man. Yeah, the glory revive us again and We have a new prayer almighty God, our father in heaven. We’re so odd by that presence. We with our finite minds cannot begin to comprehend how magnificent your intellect truly is, but we are so very grateful that you chose to create us in your image and create this entire universe for us. We, as I say are so odd that we cannot begin to comprehend how truly magnificent you are. And we are so bounded by the element of time that we are at such a handicap. We have trouble even remittance regarding how magnificent and truly great the life would be forever. We’re so grateful. Also, father, that you sent your son to this world, to be an example, and to give us your word that we may have that hope one day of being with you forever. We are so grateful that he came to this world to forgive our sins and we, but have to repent and turn from them to be whole and pure in your sight. And we know that you will hear our prayers. We have many things to be so grateful for most of all, we’re grateful for our families and the church and the things that are represented here in this community. We’re mindful of those that are not able to be with us due to illnesses. We pray that your healing hand will be placed upon them, that they will run once again, be restored to their much wanted Hill. We’re also mindful of those that have recently lost, loved ones that you will comfort them. We are thankful for the multitude of other blessings that we’re so richly blessed with. We’re also very grateful for this great country in which we live and it is for that country and it’s leadership that we pray for. Now. We pray that you will be with our president, that you will grant him a speedy and complete recovery from the coronavirus we ask that you be with those also have our number that are at least infected and quarantined from this disease. As we look about us, we want you to have our sincere belief that we are a blessed people and we pray for unity within our country. That we, once again, can speak with one voice under God. As we go through the further exercise of this service, we pray that our worship to you will be in spirit and truth and a sweet savor. So in Jesus name, we pray amen. Our song before the Lord supper this morning, it’s going to be song number three, one five, 315 one more time. Ah, ah. TRIBE I just say then that or a nice all the man things that me. It was a nice breath. A nice so and me so like I am dad to so Didi mans. My saw my As we protected the Lord suffer this morning, we would like to reflect on a few scriptures and we’ll read those before we have the bread and the fruit of the vine and acts chapter 20 in verse seven, it says in the phone the first day of the week after that, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them ready to part on the Morrow. And he continued to speech until midnight. And if we turn over to second, first Corinthians chapter 11, we’ll read verses 23 and 24 for I ever seed of the Lord, that which I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when they had given thanks, he break it and said, take eat. This is my body that is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me. Let’s pray there. God, our father in heaven, we truly are so grateful for the privilege that we have this day to come and remember our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. We’re so thankful father that you demonstrated your love for us. And he was willing to give his life upon the cross that we might have that hope if eternal life within heaven, fathers, we partake of this bread, which is representative of his body. We pray we might do so in a manner that would be acceptable unto thee and Jesus. We pray, amen. Will continue reading from that same opening verses 25 through 27. And after the same manner as he took the cup, when he gets up saying this cup is the new Testament in my blood, this do ye as often as she drank it and remembered some me, whereas often as she eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord’s death. Did he come wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord. Unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. Let us pray. Oh God, our father in heaven. It’s such a blessing and a opportunity for us to be able to come here and remember our Lord and savior to remember him suffering upon the cross and bleeding and dying for us, bearing our sins upon the cross. We probably fathers, we protect of this fruit of the vine, which represents his blood, that we remember him. And we give him the honor and the glory and the praise or the death that he suffered for us and Jesus. We pray amen. As another act of worship, we have the opportunity to unity, to give as we’ve been prospered and we’ll look at second Corinthians chapter nine, verses six through nine, we might contemplate our giving, but this I say he was so aspiring and he shall also reap sparingly. And he, that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully every man, according as he purposed in his heart. So let him give not grudgingly or of necessity for God. Loveth a cheerful giver and God is able to make all grace abound toward you. That he always have all sufficiency. And all things may abound to every good work had is this written, he, that dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor, his righteousness remaineth forever. Let us pray there. God, our father in heaven, we are grateful for all the blessings that you’ve given to us. And we pray father that we’re good stewards of those blessings. And we have this opportunity today to give a portion of that back to you that we might further the cause not only here in Collierville, but throughout the world, to be able to reach those that are lost and to be able to be helpful to those that are needing some help in a benevolent way. We pray that we’ll always remember that all these blessings come from the, and that we’re to the happy about being able to give as we’ve been prospered. And that you’ve blessed us so much. And we’re grateful for it. Bless our offering this day. And we pray that we might be used in a way that would be acceptable onto you and Jesus. We pray. Amen. If you would like to Mark it in your hymnals, the invitation song this morning will be some number 660 to 662 Before the sermon this morning, though, we will stand and sing song number 991 nine nine one. Again, please stay we’re out me rings the NA Dan, have me again, Please be seated again. The invitation sound will be Simon number 662 Check. There we go. Can you hear me all right, bear. Glad to be with you today. Although I do lament the pain that a brother Aaron is in, do appreciate the work that he does and helps in so many ways at the school at times when we’ve needed technological help. And I appreciate that, but we’re, we’re grateful the chance to be together. I want to take you back 50 years ago today. It was October the fourth, 1970, a young girl in Bible class listens to the message. And then during the worship service responds to the invitation and is baptized that very morning, 50 years ago. Today, later that afternoon, a young boy that was in that same class approaches his father and wonders whether he might need to be baptized as well. And after a long conversation that young boy, 50 years ago to the day was baptized at the night Arnold church of Christ in Memphis, Tennessee. And that young boy was me 50 years ago today I was baptized. It just so happened that a few years ago, one of the secretaries at the church was going through some material and came across a response card that was filled out on October 4th, 1970, in which I wrote these words because I want to have my sins washed away and serve God. That is what I wrote down is my desire 50 years ago. And it has not changed. I got to thinking about the opportunity to preach today, and I thought there’s nothing I could think of wanting to preach about more than how this subject that was on my mind so much. All those years ago is still on my mind today and how the message has not changed. The message has not changed in the last 50 years. Any information that I was given on that day about what I should and should not do with reference to the subject of baptism came from the same inspired message that I’m using to preach about it this morning. The message has not changed. Surely the world around us has think about what the world was like in 1,970. It’s definitely a different world now in so many ways than it was then, but some things have not changed. And one thing that I’m so grateful has not changed is this book right here, whatever the message was on the subject of baptism 50 years ago is the same message that is in place today. As a matter of fact, go way back beyond 50 years ago and go all the way back to the new Testament. And you’ll find that the same teaching Jesus and the apostles gave about baptism then is the same message that needs to be governing our world today. Nothing has changed as far as the authority of God’s word is concerned. And so I want you to go back and consider with me the message of baptism as taught by scripture. And the first thing I’d like to notice with you is that the motivation for baptism is the same today as it was when the teaching of our Lord was first given, why is it that one would want to be baptized? Now I would first direct your attention to Matthew chapter three. And there comes a man by the name of John, the baptizer, and he is preaching about a coming kingdom and a coming Christ that he is blazing the trail for who will establish that kingdom. And in Matthew chapter three, you’ll notice that in verse number two, he says repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And then we read in verse number six, those individuals from the areas all around Judea and Jerusalem and all around about the Jordan came and were baptized of him. And Jordan notice confessing their sins. Some people are not aware of the fact that even though John’s baptism was a baptism, which anticipated an acceptance of the Christ and his kingdom, according to Mark chapter one in verse four, the baptism of John notice was for the remission of sins, meaning that those who were commanded to be baptized with the baptism of John were commanded to do so for the motivation of having their sins remitted. It’s interesting to know that the message of baptism today is skewed by so many. Some have suggested that the motivation for baptism is not to remit your sins, but to acknowledge that they’ve already been remitted by same some fabled sinner’s prayer. I want to lovingly say this dear friends, but I would like to ask you to find the place in the word of God, for me, where you ever find anyone ever been told to say a prayer and to ask Jesus, to come into their hearts, to make him the Lord of their life and the savior of their soul. I really want to see that some years ago, I was at a Sonic drive in during the afternoon hours of two to four, when the drinks are half price and the ice is so good. And you know what I’m talking about, if you enjoy that kind of drink on a hot day or just about any day. And so here I was in my car waiting for my order to be brought. And I noticed the lady get out of her car and she was going car to car, passing out some literature or trying to sell something. I waited till she got to my car, of course, to see what was going on. And then she handed me a little four page tract. It was small. The front page only said three words on it. God loves you. And certainly that’s a wonderful statement. Turn the page. And the second page only had one thing on it. It was John three 16 for God. So loved the world that he gave. His only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. And I love that verse. And so certainly I have no objection to John three 16 being printed and broadcast anywhere in the world. Page three was of interest. Page three of that little track said, if you believe the verse on the opposite page, say the following prayer and ask Jesus to come into your heart, make him the Lord of your life and the savior of your soul, and then gave you a script to pray to say those very words. And then it said, if you just prayed this prayer, congratulations, welcome to the family of God. And then you turned and the last page says, now go tell others. And when the woman handed it to me and I glanced over it rather quickly, I said, ma’am, I would like to give you a compliment, commend you for something. And I don’t think she was expecting that. I don’t think she’d received a whole lot of warmth from the other automobiles or the drivers of those automobiles. But I said, I want to tell you that I am impressed that you have the courage to go car to car, telling people that God and Jesus loved them. That is so true. And I’m glad the world knows that. Want the world to know that I love this verse you have on page two, God. So loved John three 16 is one of my favorite verses. My question for you is really about your third page here. Can you help me with this? I see the, the instructions given here to say this prayer. And they asked Jesus to come into my heart and make him the Lord of my life and the savior of my soul. But what I don’t see on your third page is some scriptures to show where people ever did that. Could you help me with that? I have a new Testament with me and I would, I would be greatly benefited. If you could show me where individuals in the new Testament ever did, what this page is telling people to do. And she said, well, it’s, it’s so many different places. I wouldn’t know where to begin. And I said, even one would be okay. Could you just show me one instance where anyone was ever told to say this prayer and that’s Jesus to come into their hearts? And she said, well, what do you think about it? And I lovingly said, and our whole conversation was cordial. By the way I lovingly said to her, I said, ma’am, I wouldn’t want to stake your eternal salvation or mine on what I think. I think we would both agree that what the Lord taught is, is what’s going to really be the standard of judgment. And so Matt tell you what the Lord said about this. And she acknowledged that she was okay with that. And so I started, I started not with baptism because Jesus did not start with baptism. Jesus started with the concept of believing in who he is. He said, except you believe that I am key, shall die in your sins. John eight 24 and friends. Let me tell you something today. If someone is dunked in this body of water, any body of water and it is not them is not because they believe Jesus Christ is the son of God. If they do not believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, we are doing nothing, but getting them wet. We’re not washing any sins away by magic water. So Jesus said, except you believe that I am you’ll die in your sins, John eight 24. And I remember he asked whom do men say that I, the son of man, em, and they said, well, some think you’re John the Baptist. Some think you’re Jeremiah or one of the prophets, but whom say, ye, that I am. Who, who do you say that I am? Peter said, thou art, the Christ, the son of the living God. And that is the recognition that the people on Pentecost came to grips with when they suddenly realized, Hey, wait a minute. We killed the son of God. Peter had just preached along with the other apostles, a sermon in which he exalted Christ and said you with wicked and lawless hands have crucified and slain the very son of God, but God raised him up. And the same Jesus that you crucified has now been made both Lord and Christ Christos. The anointed one acts two 36. Now when they heard this acts two 37, they were pricked in their hearts and said, men and brethren, what shall we do? Stop? Did the apostle Peter respond to their, what shall we do? Question with the following. I want every head bowed. I want all eyes closed and every head bowed. I want all of you here on Pentecost to now say a prayer, say the following prayer with me. Lord Jesus. Come into my heart, save my soul, wash my sins away by your blood and become the Lord of my life. Amen. Is that what you read in acts two 38? Yes or no. Did you read that? No. What do you read? Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, the motivation for baptism has not changed over the years. It was from the get go for the remission of sins. Someone says, well, that means because your sins have already been forgiven and they’ll use the illustration. They’ll say I went to the store and bought some chapstick for my chapped lips. And when I say for my chap lips, I didn’t buy chapstick in order to get chapped lips. I bought chapstick because I already had chapped lips and the chap stick was supposed to help me with that. The problem with this illustration is twofold in the identical language that Jesus used in Matthew 26, 28. You’ll find the same exact language in acts two 38 and Matthew 26, 28 is very significant in this regard. Notice Jesus Christ on this occasion says the following. He says in Matthew 26, 28, this is my blood of the new Testament, which is shed for many, for the remission of sin. Stop Jesus. Are you saying that you shed your blood in order that people might have remission of sins or because they already do? Jesus did not bleed because men had already been saved. He bled so that they could be. And the Greek word that’s used here that is translated for has a meaning. That means to reach him unreached end. And Jesus said, I’m shedding my blood so that men might reach the unreached end of having their sins washed away once. And for all, remember even the transgressions that were under the first Testament were blood blotted out and cleansed by the blood of Christ, according to Hebrews chapter nine, 15 and following. And so the blood of Christ is necessary to wash your sins away. What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus. I wrote 50 years ago tonight because I want to have my sins washed away. Do you remember a man by the name of Saul of Tarsus who saw the Lord of the road to Damascus and as he was going toward Damascus with a full intention of persecuted, even more believers in Christ, he’s now suddenly confronted with the, the Christ is talking to him. He says, in acts nine, six, Lord, what will they’ll have me to do? And acts nine sixties told arise and go into the city and watch this, please. There, it shall be told the what thou must do. Saul of Tarsus is told you go into the city and that’s where you’re going to be told what you must do. So let’s see about this. If you’ll go with me to acts chapter nine, I want to show you something here that you may or may not have thought of. Do you know that when God called the preacher and, and I asked to go preach to Saul of Tarsus and tell him what to do, do you know what he told? Anne and I saw was already doing in acts chapter nine. Look at verse number 10. There was a certain disciple at the maskus named Dan and nice. And to him said the Lord in a vision and NIS. And he said, behold, I’m here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him arise and go into the street, which is called straight and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. For behold, he prayeth. And the ETH in the King James version here is indicative of the fact that he was in a continual state of prayer. Now just reason with me a little bit, here’s a man who now knows that Jesus Christ is the son of God. And he’s waiting in the city to be told what he must do. What’s he doing in the meantime, praying? What do you suppose he was praying? Did he feel any guilt for having done what he’d done to those who followed Christ? Did he feel any guilt for having rejected? The Christ whom he now knows is indeed the son of God. I guarantee you that he was beside himself because he couldn’t eat or drink for three days. He was blind. He was not eating. He was not in a state of happiness and joy. He wasn’t rejoicing in his new found salvation. In fact, Paul would write it this way in Romans five one, therefore being justified by faith. We have peace with God through our Lord. Jesus Christ. Question. What Saul at peace when he wasn’t eating or drinking, was he at peace when he was praying prior to the preacher, getting to his house, had he found peace in prayer? No, he had not. Now, if prayer is the way to invite Jesus into your heart and make him the Lord of your life, here’s a perfect opportunity. In fact, I would say you couldn’t find a better opportunity for a gospel preacher to teach the sinner’s prayer than an occasion where the man’s already in prayer when the preacher gets there. But if you’ll turn to acts chapter 22, you’ll notice that when Anna knives, the preacher gets to the praying man soul, would you notice in verse 16? He says, and now why Terry is thou acts 2216. And now why Terry is thou repeat after me, Lord Jesus, come into my heart. I’ll make, is that what you read in acts 2216, which you read in acts 2216? Is that an inspired preacher tells a praying man. And now what are you waiting for? Get up arise and be baptized and wash away their sins. Calling on the name of the Lord. I want to have my sins washed away, but I had been taught revelation chapter one in verse five. I want you to see revelation one five, because no one is teaching that water has magical mystical powers to wash sins away in and of itself because it’s some how Holy no, it is the connecting place where God’s power does. What only God’s power can do. But in revelation, chapter one, you’ll notice verse five. It mentions Jesus Christ. Yes. That’s where my focus is. If it’s not for Christ, I have no hope of salvation. And then the last part of verse five of revelation, one unto him that loved us. God. So loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Yes, indeed, Jesus Christ and washed us from our sins. How in his own blood, this is my blood of the new Testament, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins. Jesus says your blood is going to wash sins away. Jesus. Yes, that’s why I’m shedding it so that men might have their sins remitted or washed away. And so 50 years ago, an opportunity is granted to have my sins washed away, but that was available to me 50 years ago because of something that happened thousands of years ago in the area surrounding Jerusalem, where a Virgin conceived and brought forth a son and called his name Jesus. And he, he lived a sinless life. He died as a perfect sacrifice. See a Rose on the third day, he ascended into heaven and there then on the day of Pentecost from that day forward, men started accessing the benefits of his blood in ways that were official. And so moving now, I know that this may not be the exact anniversary of the day that you were baptized, but I would guarantee some of you in here today are thinking back to the day that you were baptized. And you think about it with me for just a moment. How did it feel when you came up out of that watery grave of baptism, having confessed Jesus Christ, to be the son of God, having made the decision you would repent having indeed believed Jesus Christ was the son of God that led you to make those other decisions. You now are buried just for an instant with your Lord in baptism. You come up just an instant later and you leave the old man of sin behind Romans chapter six, and you are now clean and you feel lighter than air. And you’ve been added to the church that Jesus bought with his own blood. Can you think back to that moment in your life, how much does it mean to you all these years later, that woman at the drive through, I told you about it, the Sonic stall, I started showing her some of the very same things I’ve been talking to you about these last few minutes. And before I could go to the last step, I talked about the need to first believe Jesus Christ is the son of God. After hearing faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God, Romans 10, 17, I started showing her the necessity of belief and without faith, it’s impossible to please God. And if you don’t believe he’s the Christ you’ll die in your sins. I started showing all men everywhere, been commanded to repent acts 17 and verse 30 confession is made with the mouth on to salvation, Romans 10, nine, and 10. And before I could even get the words out, she said this, she said, wait, just a minute. You’re taking me to water baptism, aren’t you? And I said, well, ma’am so far the only words that I’ve used are words from the Lord himself and inspired apostles. And those words have taken us this far. Let me just ask you if the words of Jesus would take us as far as water baptism. If the words of Christ would take us that far, shouldn’t we be willing to follow the, his words that far. And she acknowledged. Yes. And I said, well, Jesus said this. He that believe with, and this baptized shall be saved. He, that believeth not shall be damned March 16, 16. And she said, but wait a minute, sir, respectfully, there is not a drop of water in John three 16, John three 16, doesn’t have a drop of water in it. She said, and I said, ma’am respectfully. It doesn’t have to because John three and verse five, which comes before it is already soaking wet. And I could tell that this intrigued her. You remember what Jesus said in John three, five before he ever got to verse 16, he said, except a man be born of what water and of the spirit. He cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Jesus had told Nicodemus, you have to be born again to see the kingdom of God. And the Kadima says, well, how can a man be born when he’s old? What does he go into his mother’s womb a second time? And, and then be, but what do you mean born again? Jesus then clarifies except a man be born of water and of the spirit. He cannot enter into the kingdom of God. I want to tell you the true story that happened in Knoxville, Tennessee involving a 92 year old man named pop Collins. He’s reading his Bible, his large print Bible, as he did every day. It just so happened that his reading on this particular day fell to John three. And he’s reading of how Nicodemus has this conversation with the Lord. And then he reads verse five. But this time it stops him in his tracks except a man be born of water and of the spirit. He cannot enter into the kingdom of God and pop starts lingering over this. And he starts thinking, I need to figure this out because if I haven’t done this, I cannot enter the kingdom of God. And I want to enter the kingdom of God. So I’d better make sure I’ve been born of water into the spirit. So I don’t miss out. And he starts just thinking it through. Okay. I know that a man has to be born of water and of the spirit, or he cannot wait a minute. Where was I reading? Just the other day. He was remembering where he’d read acts eight, where the Ethiopian nobleman had been to Jerusalem to worship. And now was headed back to Ethiopia, hundreds of miles away. And yet, even though he’s been to worship, he still reading Isaiah, the prophet in his chariot, that was not a regular occurrence for people to have a copy of God’s word hand that he and their chariots back then. So this man was of some means and he was using it to the best of his ability to learn the word. And so here he’s reading and Phillip runs up and joins him, gets in the cherry. It begins at the same scripture, preaches unto him Jesus. And after having preached the message of the Holy spirit to this Ethiopian nobleman acts chapter eight 36 says, as they went on their way, they came into a certain w a T E R water. And the eunuch said, see, here is water. What does hinder me to be baptized? Now, may I point out to you friends that in acts eight after hearing Jesus preached, you do not read the following. You don’t read as they went on their way. The Unix said to Philip, you know that sinner’s prayer you were talking about just a minute ago. Would this be a good time for you to lead me in that or teach me how to say that? Is that what you read in acts chapter eight? No, instead you read this as they went on their way, they came to a certain water. And even though there’s not a word said about baptism in verse 35 or any verse leading up to this explicitly here is the unique wanting to be baptized, but he’d heard Jesus preach. Well, yes, you preach Jesus. You’re going to preach his death. You’re going to preach this barrier. You’re going to preach this resurrection. And sure enough, having preached the death, the burial and the resurrection of Christ, the uniq understands that he needs to die to the practice of sin. Be buried with his Lord and a water, a grave of baptism and rise to walk in newness of life. Otherwise he would have had no interest and I’ll guarantee you if baptism had not been the proper response to that sermon, Philip would have said, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. I think you’ve misunderstood something, sir. Where did you ever get the wrong headed idea? That water baptism is the way you respond to hearing Jesus preached. No, it’s not acts two. When Jesus was preached, what was the response? Water baptism act sate. You can trace it through the book of acts. And so here you see here is water. What does hinder me to be baptized? They both went down into the water, came up out of the water. They went on their way, rejoicing. He went on his way. Rejoicing in particular, the unit did. Now question pop Collins is reading this John three, five passage days after he’d read the passage and just mentioned in acts eight about a man who heard the message of the spirit and wanted to be baptized in water. And pop said, that’s got to be with this as talking about. So he called his preacher on the phone. He said, I want you to pick me up and take me down to the church building and baptized me so that I can enter the kingdom of God. That was his motivation. He wanted to enter the kingdom of God. His preacher said, pop, what are you talking about? You came to our revival years ago and you got down to the mourner’s bench and you asked Jesus to come into your heart. And you know that, that took care of that. Then you don’t need to be, have to be baptized. You’ve already been saved and you’re 92. And I’m not about to get you soaking wet and get you catching pneumonia and die. And then your family blames me for it. And no, I will not baptize you pop pleaded with him. But this verse says, if I don’t, if I’m not born of water to the spirit, I cannot enter the kingdom of God. His preacher said pop that is talking about how a woman, when she’s very close to her delivery time will her water will break. And then she’ll have the baby pop was 92, but he’s sharp as attack. He says, you’re telling me that this borne of water is about a woman about to give birth to a baby. That’s right. Pop says, this says, except a man be born. This isn’t talking about an infant being born. And are I read the other day about this man that just heard Jesus preached? And he pointed and said, see, here is water. Was that man pointing to a woman about to give birth to a baby? No. Well, what was he pointing at? Well, he was pointed at actual water. Well then that’s the kind of, I want to get in. Will you pick me? He wouldn’t do it. He would not take so pop got out the yellow pages. He starts going down the listings, calling churches. Guess what? Every single church he called, wanted to do with him over the phone, rather than come pick him up and take him to their church building and baptize him. Can you guess what everyone wanted to do over the phone with him? Why don’t you just bow your head and we’ll say a little prayer and we’ll take care of it that way. He said, no, I thought that took care of it years ago, but I didn’t know. This verse was in the Bible then. So he got desperate. He called Baptist hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee. I would like for you to picture your on the switchboard that day and you answer Baptist hospital. How may I direct your call and the voice on the other end says, yeah. Could you connect me with the baptismal department please? I’m sorry. What? Oh yeah. Could you connect me with your baptizing department, sir? You do know you call the hospital, right? Well, yes, but because of the name of your hospital, I thought you might have someone there that could perform baptisms upon request and I’m requesting it. I just read in my Bible that Jesus said, except a man be born of water and of the spirit. He cannot enter into the kingdom of God. I want to enter the kingdom of God and I can’t find anyone to help me do it. I think perhaps it was Providence that just at the time he placed this call, the woman on the switchboard, a member of the young high church of Christ in Knoxville, Tennessee now known the South Knoxville church of Christ. She said, sir, you’re wanting to be baptized. Yes. Where do you live? She called her local preacher. Her local preacher went out to meet with pop. They took pop and taught him indeed the church that he was entering upon his obedience. And they took him and put him on a stretcher. I met Papa after he was baptized and never knew him before that. He told me this story that I’m telling you, his arms were about as big around as a broomstick handle. And that’s not much of an exaggeration. He was a feeble frail man, but they put him on a stretcher after taking this confession that he believed Jesus Christ was the son of God. And they dipped him quickly beneath that watery grave. And they brought him back up and pop Collins went on his way. Rejoicing because his sins had been washed away. He was now in the church of Jesus Christ. I don’t know how many years ago your baptism might’ve been, or if you are here today, for all I know needing to be baptized, I don’t know the entire makeup of the audience to whom I’m speaking. And I don’t know about those watching and what your needs may or may not be with reference to this matter. I can tell you this, the message has not changed in the 50 years since October 4th, 1970, the mode or manner has not changed this idea that yeah, it used to be by immersion, but now it’s okay. If you just decide to sprinkle poor. No, the Bible says in John three 23, John shows a certain spot because there was much water there. John three 23, you don’t need much water to poor. You don’t need much water to sprinkle in. The Greek word for sprinkle is ran teat. So you’ll never find it once with reference to baptism. The Greek word for pouring is a Greek word, K O C H E L, with a hard C H you don’t ever find a form of that word used with reference to baptism, signifying a pouring of water upon the head. What you see is that teeth. So to dip, to plunge, to immerse, it’s like a garment that’s being dyed. It’s completely submerged and then removed from the solution. You and I are completely submerged in water. We come forth and we’re cleaned. We’ve been made brand new by the blood of Jesus Christ that has washed our sins away. And that message hasn’t changed. The motivation hasn’t changed the manner or mode hasn’t changed and our mission to get others to do that has not changed either. Dear friends, I am spending my life to the best of my ability to try to get folks to do what I did 50 years ago And what others Did long before I ever did. Now baptism’s not the end. It’s the beginning and are close with Romans chapter six. I’d like for you to go there with me and, and notice with me this wonderful text in Romans chapter six, the Bible says that indeed, verse number four, we are buried with him by baptism into death. That like as Christ was raised up from the dead, by the glory of the father, even. So we also should walk in newness of life. I remember I’m sure you do coming up and feeling like bran, who no sin, no stain. I’m right with God. And then what I keep on trying to record myself to be dead under sin verse 11 and I don’t verse 12, let sin reign in my mortal body and obey them. The lesser of I don’t yield. Once again, my members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, verse 13, no I’ve obeyed from the heart. That form of doctrine delivered and being made free from sin. I become the servants of righteousness. In fact, because I want to have my sins washed away and serve God, that’s the component. I don’t just hand God this card on the day of judgment and say, this should get me where I want to be. Have I served God since the day I became his, have you? I hope that you have, and maybe there’s someone listening or someone here today that says, this is the day I need to begin my walk with Christ. Preached the gospel made it in Elizabethton Tennessee years ago. And there was the young lady that when the invitation song was sung, I’d never had anyone respond so quickly in any church service I’d ever been in where I’d preached as this woman did. She was young in her twenties. And I mean, as soon as the invitation song was sung, she was booking it down. She was booking it down the aisle. In fact, she just went straight for the door that led back to the baptistry. She knew where it was. The preacher got there just before she opened that door, ask her a quick question. She made one quick sentence to him and she kept going. And essentially she told him I’m not waiting another second to put on my Lord in baptism. And that day there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. As we watched her connect with the blood of Christ and have the blood of Christ, wash your sins away and add her to his church. I hope indeed. I have not been around that church in year since then. I hope indeed she’s remained faithful. I know there are some folks in scripture who did and some who did not. And that is why I know some are concerned about this pandemic and its impact longterm on the faithfulness of Christians, will some individuals fall away and never return will. I don’t know. Yes. I’m sure that the world is, if it stands, we’ll continue to have folks who, who leave their first love, but I’ll tell you this. There are others who are going to come to their first love for the first time and realize, you know what? I’m mortal. I’m not going to live forever in this human body, but I’m going to live forever somewhere. And I want it to be heaven. So I’m coming today and I want to be a Christian by hearing, believing repenting, confessing, and being baptized for the remission of sins. I’m doing that right now. Maybe you’re here today and you’re already a child of God, but not living like interacting like it. This second law pardon was offered to Simon. The sorcerer, after he was baptized, he believed he was baptized. Therefore he was saved. And then a few verses later he’s told repent that his wickedness might be forgiven. That’s the way you get things right after you’ve been scripturally baptized, then you pray and repent. So I’m asking today, I don’t know what your situation is. The invitation song is about to be sung and wouldn’t it be sweet? Who knows how this would work, but wouldn’t it be sweet if someday somewhere there is someone 50 years from this day of the Lord lingers that long who says in the year 2070, I remember October the fourth, 20, 20 that’s the day I was baptized 50 years ago to wash my sins away and to begin serving God. We’d love to see that happen today. As together we stand in saying, won’t you please come to Jesus the Oh, please be seated. We’re so grateful. Everybody’s been with us today. Today in closing, we would like to sing the song number five 78, 578. And then we’ll have our closing prayer. We will ratify the King of Kings. We will glorify the lamb, the Lord of Lords. we will worship him in righteousness. We will worship ham alone. He is Lloyd off hap and Lord over. He is Lord of a. He has Lord, I you never up you him. We yeah, yeah. To the King of Kings ha man. Yeah. To the ah, man. Yeah. To the Lord of Lords, who is the gray? I am Oh, spray a father who art in heaven. When he thanked me for this beautiful first day of the week and the opportunity we’ve had to come together as your children to sing these songs of praise and today, and to study that word, we pray that the things that we have learned here today will help us to become strong Christians and to be better servants in that kingdom. I pray that you’d be with those that have been mentioned today that are unable to be with us because of illness. We pray that you would be with them and comfort them. We thank Dee for the technology that we have this day and time that we can go into the homes or those that are more vulnerable to the virus. And that pay may be with us in spirit. We pray that you would be with the school of preaching in brother Clark, as he labors over there, that they can produce more young men that are willing to work. And I came to him to do serve thee. We pray that you would be, keep us safe and bring us back in the next opponent time. Forgive us the rest, sand and crash. Now we pray. Amen.