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When Jesus Turned Up the Heat Msg 1120 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: As I sit and listen to that, I have to
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Speaker 1: tell you that I wonder in the back of my
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Speaker 1: mind if Charles Wesley had any idea the contribution he
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Speaker 1: was making to the church at large for really centuries
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Speaker 1: to come when he wrote that grand hymn. So beautifully
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Speaker 1: done this morning. And can it be that I should
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Speaker 1: gain and interest in the Savior's blood. Marvelous words. We
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Speaker 1: turn to the word of life today in Matthew chapter 11,
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Speaker 1: and I'll be reading 15 verses right in the core
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Speaker 1: of that chapter. Not easy to understand, and I can
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Speaker 1: assure you, not easy to preach. I'm referring to Matthew 11,
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Speaker 1: 12 through 26. I'm reading from the New Living Translation.
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Speaker 1: Your version may be a little different, but basically we're
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Speaker 1: reading the same truths. May we stand together for the
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Speaker 1: reading of God's Word. Matthew 11 verse 12 begins, And
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Speaker 1: from the time John the baptizer began preaching until now,
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Speaker 1: the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing. that could
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Speaker 1: be rendered, the kingdom of heaven has suffered from violence.
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Speaker 1: And violent people are attacking it. For before John came,
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Speaker 1: all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward
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Speaker 1: to this present time. And if you are willing to
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Speaker 1: accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the
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Speaker 1: prophets said would come. Anyone with ears to hear should
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Speaker 1: listen and understand. To what can I compare this generation?
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Speaker 1: It's like children playing a game in the public square.
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Speaker 1: They complain to their friends, we played wedding songs and
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Speaker 1: you didn't dance. So we played funeral songs and you
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Speaker 1: didn't mourn. For John didn't spend his time eating and drinking,
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Speaker 1: and you say he's possessed with a demon. The Son
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Speaker 1: of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and
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Speaker 1: you say he's a glutton and a drunkard and a
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Speaker 1: friend of tax collectors and other sinners. But wisdom is
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Speaker 1: shown to be right by its results. Then Jesus began
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Speaker 1: to denounce the towns where he had done so many
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Speaker 1: of his miracles because they had not repented of their
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Speaker 1: sins and turned to God. What sorrow awaits Chorazin and Bethsaida?
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Speaker 1: For if the miracles I did in you had been
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Speaker 1: done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have
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Speaker 1: repented of their sins long ago. clothing themselves in burlap
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Speaker 1: and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse.
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Speaker 1: I tell you, Tyre and Sidon will be better off
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Speaker 1: on judgment day than you. And you people of Capernaum,
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Speaker 1: will you be honored in heaven? No. You will go
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Speaker 1: down to the place of the dead. For if the
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Speaker 1: miracles I did for you had been done in wicked Sodom,
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Speaker 1: It would still be here today. I tell you, even
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Speaker 1: Sodom will be better off on judgment day than you.
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Speaker 1: At that time, Jesus prayed this prayer. Oh, Father, Lord
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Speaker 1: of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things
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Speaker 1: from those who think themselves wise and clever and for
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Speaker 1: revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father Jesus. It pleased
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Speaker 1: you to do it this way. May the Lord open
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Speaker 1: our eyes to understand and our hearts to accept what
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Speaker 1: he has written in his word. You may be seated.
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Speaker 1: A friend of mine sent me a wonderful quote on
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Speaker 1: prayer this past week. I want to pass along to
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Speaker 1: you It's a statement John Piper wrote, that prayer should
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Speaker 1: be used as a wartime walkie-talkie to call in airstrikes,
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Speaker 1: not a bell to ring the butler to come fluff
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Speaker 1: a pillow. Not good. We call in airstrikes because our
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Speaker 1: times are chaotic. Our nation is awash. Our culture has
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Speaker 1: lost its way, and even some who once embraced the
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Speaker 1: truth have wandered from it. By the grace of God,
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Speaker 1: we're able to call in help for ourselves, for we
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Speaker 1: are little better given our old nature. May God help
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Speaker 1: us in this day to be people of the truth
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Speaker 1: in belief and behavior. Let's pray. You are no butler,
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Speaker 1: our Father, waiting for our command. You are the sovereign
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Speaker 1: God of heaven, and we await your will. Guide us,
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Speaker 1: we pray, in the way we should go. May we
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Speaker 1: focus our attention on you and away from ourselves. What
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Speaker 1: a novel thought in this day in which we live.
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Speaker 1: Deliver us, our Father, from this narcissistic, constant attention to
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Speaker 1: what we want and how we feel and what we
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Speaker 1: desire or what we deserve. And remind us that by
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Speaker 1: your grace and by your grace alone, we are able
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Speaker 1: to live and move and have our being. Thank you
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Speaker 1: for your watch care over us, oh God, how much
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Speaker 1: we need it. We live in a land that has
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Speaker 1: long since left the truth that you provide for us
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Speaker 1: to live by. Even those who lead us are far astray.
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Speaker 1: And some who once preached the truth now deny it.
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Speaker 1: and even live against it. Deliver us from an indifference
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Speaker 1: or a pride and bring us to our knees as
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Speaker 1: we call on you for help. Bring your person to
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Speaker 1: the place of responsibility over our nation. You guide us,
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Speaker 1: our Father, in these tenuous times. And remind us that
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Speaker 1: we are not our own. We have been bought with
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Speaker 1: a price. Make us ever grateful for the Savior who
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Speaker 1: loved us and gave himself for us. Protect us, we pray,
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Speaker 1: from those who would bring harm and those who would
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Speaker 1: kill and destroy. We don't deserve it. but we request it.
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Speaker 1: Minister through your word today in a special way and
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Speaker 1: use these hard sayings, bringing them to life so that
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Speaker 1: we understand them, and more importantly, we obey them. Give
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Speaker 1: us ears not only to hear, but wills to heed
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Speaker 1: what you have declared. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
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Speaker 1: that saved a wretch like me. We all were lost,
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Speaker 1: but now we're found. We were blind, but now we see.
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Speaker 1: Speak to those today who are still blind. Remind all
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Speaker 1: of us that we are recipients of your matchless grace.
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Speaker 1: which allows us to call you our Father and give
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Speaker 1: you our gifts. In the matchless name of our Redeemer,
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Speaker 1: our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Everyone said amen. There
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Speaker 1: are some days I would love for someone else to
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Speaker 1: preach in my place. This happens when I come to
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Speaker 1: a section of scripture that is complex and hard to understand.
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Speaker 1: It would be so convenient to call in sick and
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Speaker 1: have Stan Toussaint come preach this passage, or maybe John Hanna,
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Speaker 1: or one of the other greater lights at Dallas Seminary,
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Speaker 1: or one of you so capable and competent. I could
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Speaker 1: be recovering at home watching a game on television as
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Speaker 1: you're down here laboring over this passage. Remind me of
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Speaker 1: a humorous story I learned years ago of a brilliant
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Speaker 1: geologist who was really a recluse, and he wrote many books.
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Speaker 1: He was sort of the star in his field. His
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Speaker 1: discipline was envied by many because of his mental acumen,
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Speaker 1: and he therefore sort of stayed to himself, but the
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Speaker 1: public continued to want to hear from him personally, and
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Speaker 1: he got under a little pressure to finally put together
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Speaker 1: a summer full of speaking engagements. And he went from
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Speaker 1: one to another, to another, and yet another. The house
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Speaker 1: was always packed, the crowd was large, and he was
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Speaker 1: often just really small, standing up front as he would
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Speaker 1: stand and deliver these flawless lectures on this complicated subject.
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Speaker 1: But about halfway through the journey, he got really sick
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Speaker 1: of hearing himself giving the same old talk. And he
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Speaker 1: said to his driver one day, he said, you know,
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Speaker 1: I am so weary of this same talk. The driver said,
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Speaker 1: I've said through every one of them, I could do
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Speaker 1: it for you. He said, pull over at the next
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Speaker 1: service station. So they pulled in. They exchanged clothing, and
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Speaker 1: he dressed up like the scholar, and the scholar dressed
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Speaker 1: up like the driver, put on the cap, and got
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Speaker 1: behind the wheel and drove into the next town. They
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Speaker 1: didn't know a difference because they'd never seen the man before.
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Speaker 1: Introduced himself and finally walked into this massive hall packed
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Speaker 1: with people. And the driver stood up behind the microphone
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Speaker 1: and delivered it flawlessly. It was without one error. And
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Speaker 1: the scholar, dressed up like the driver, standing on the
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Speaker 1: side looking and smiling, thinking, how great is this? We're
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Speaker 1: going to do this again. When he finished, the crowd
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Speaker 1: just exploded with applause. They stood up, and the master
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Speaker 1: of ceremonies walked back to the mic and said, everyone
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Speaker 1: be seated. I'm going to do something I've never done before.
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Speaker 1: We're going to open the floor for questions. Do any
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Speaker 1: of you have any questions for the scholar tonight? And
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Speaker 1: one man down front stood up and said, yeah, I've
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Speaker 1: been wondering for a long time, how do you justify
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Speaker 1: your radiocarbon dating method in light of the universal deluge
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Speaker 1: that abruptly changed all geological specimens from the antediluvian era
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Speaker 1: until then on? And by the way, you might mention
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Speaker 1: how that impacted the laws of thermonuclear dynamics. Small beads
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Speaker 1: of perspiration broke out in the forehead And the man
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Speaker 1: walked up to the mic and he said, that's such
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Speaker 1: a simple question, I'm going to let my driver answer
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Speaker 1: it for you today. When I come to Matthew chapter 11,
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Speaker 1: I don't think anyone would say it's simple. And I
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Speaker 1: can't find a driver. So I'll give it my best.
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Speaker 1: What's the subject that Jesus is dealing with? He's the
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Speaker 1: Messiah and he's offered the kingdom of heaven to people
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Speaker 1: who don't want it. It all began with John the Baptizer,
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Speaker 1: you may recall, who came out of the wilderness as
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Speaker 1: the forerunner of the Christ, of the Messiah. And he
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Speaker 1: did his job well. He stepped up, faithfully carried out
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Speaker 1: his responsibilities, and then went a little too far with
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Speaker 1: Herod Antipas, And as a result, you may remember from
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Speaker 1: our last time, he was thrown in prison. And there
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Speaker 1: he stayed. And now Jesus on his own, having talked
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Speaker 1: about how great John is, addresses further the subject that
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Speaker 1: these people were rejecting. Now who's his audience? Well, you
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Speaker 1: won't find them mentioned by name in verse 12, where
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Speaker 1: our passage begins. but you will see them appear at
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Speaker 1: the end of verse seven or right in the middle.
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Speaker 1: John's disciples were leaving and as that happened, Jesus began
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Speaker 1: talking about him, look at it, to the crowds. So
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Speaker 1: the people he's speaking to would be sort of a
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Speaker 1: mishmash of men and women some following him to get
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Speaker 1: their bellies full of food, others coming out of sheer curiosity,
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Speaker 1: and there were others who were really wondering what this
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Speaker 1: was all about. And certainly there were skeptics who said,
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Speaker 1: we'll have none of this. Who can even say for
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Speaker 1: sure he's Messiah? In spite of the fact that Jesus
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Speaker 1: had done the work of Messiah and had spoken the
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Speaker 1: words of Messiah, they wanted nothing to do with it.
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Speaker 1: So his people said, who are listening are for the
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Speaker 1: most part unbelievers. And as I read the verses before us,
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Speaker 1: I get the feeling that Jesus takes off the gloves
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Speaker 1: and turns up the heat. He's put up with them
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Speaker 1: for a while and now it's time for them to
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Speaker 1: hear it straight from his mouth. They are responsible with
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Speaker 1: the information he has been giving them. and they must
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Speaker 1: respond or they will never know the joy of what
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Speaker 1: he has to offer them. He says in verse 12,
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Speaker 1: from the time John the Baptizer began preaching until now,
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Speaker 1: the kingdom of heaven, I believe it could be read,
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Speaker 1: has suffered from violence by violent people. It has not
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Speaker 1: been well received. It has not been embraced. There are
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Speaker 1: those who have viciously attacked the message and want nothing
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Speaker 1: to do with it. Before John came, all the prophets
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Speaker 1: and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time.
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Speaker 1: They had spoken of it. They had written about it.
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Speaker 1: And now that we find ourselves in the here and now,
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Speaker 1: you want nothing to do with it. And if you're
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Speaker 1: willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, meaning
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Speaker 1: he speaks as one like unto Elijah, the one the
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Speaker 1: prophet said would come. Anyone with ears to hear should
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Speaker 1: listen and understand. In other words, you will need to
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Speaker 1: have the same kind of forceful devotion to follow the
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Speaker 1: teaching that the majority of you in your own vicious
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Speaker 1: and forceful way are rejecting the message. and denying what
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Speaker 1: I am offering. It's a deeply emotional and passionate word
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Speaker 1: of warning. In fact, he says in so many ways,
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Speaker 1: all who hear these words must heed them. I think
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Speaker 1: there's a word for our own times in this as well.
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Speaker 1: I don't know the last time you thought about it,
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Speaker 1: but it does plague me at times that the great
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Speaker 1: majority of people living today openly reject the message of Christ.
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Speaker 1: Some simply shun it and walk away, others viciously attack it,
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Speaker 1: as we have seen in terrorist attacks, when the terrorists
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Speaker 1: tell the Christians to stand to their feet and to
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Speaker 1: deny Christ, and those courageous enough to do so stand
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Speaker 1: and refusing to deny him are shot on the spot.
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Speaker 1: This is nothing of ancient history. This is today as well.
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Speaker 1: This message of hope and reassurance, in Jesus' case, the
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Speaker 1: kingdom of heaven that is literally offered to the Jews
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Speaker 1: is denied by and rejected by and attacked by the
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Speaker 1: very people Jesus came to reach. and to touch. We
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Speaker 1: witness the same today. He goes on. Not only is
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Speaker 1: there the vicious and violent attack on the message that
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Speaker 1: he offers, please observe that there is sort of a
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Speaker 1: game played, and he refers to them as that. Look
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Speaker 1: at verse 16. To what can I compare this generation?
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Speaker 1: Now read carefully. You're like children playing a game in
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Speaker 1: the public square, complaining to their friends. We played wedding
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Speaker 1: songs and you didn't dance. We played funeral songs and
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Speaker 1: you didn't mourn. I think it's a direct slam against
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Speaker 1: John the Baptizer, who came out of the wilderness looking weird,
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Speaker 1: sounding strange, but a message that cut like a hot
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Speaker 1: knife through butter. As he told them to repent, as
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Speaker 1: he spoke of the one who was the Lamb of
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Speaker 1: God taking away the sin of the world, And he
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Speaker 1: is not, he said to himself, I am not the one,
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Speaker 1: but I come to tell you of the one. And
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Speaker 1: John faithfully did that. All you want to do is
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Speaker 1: play your wedding game. And John wouldn't sing and dance.
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Speaker 1: And then I've come along and I've declared the message
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Speaker 1: and you want me to follow along your plan for
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Speaker 1: fasting and mourning and I don't do that. We don't
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Speaker 1: live our lives according to your rules, but according to
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Speaker 1: God's rules. And you're like petulant, pouting children. You want
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Speaker 1: nothing to do with it because we're not doing it
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Speaker 1: your way. It's clearly a slam against the baptizer and
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Speaker 1: the Messiah. You want us to play your games, and
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Speaker 1: we won't. And because we don't, look at what they
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Speaker 1: did next. They called him names. Did you notice that
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Speaker 1: when we read it earlier? Verse 18, John didn't spend
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Speaker 1: his time eating and drinking, so you gave him a name.
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Speaker 1: He's a demoniac. No one dressed like that would be
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Speaker 1: in his right mind. No one sounding like that would
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Speaker 1: be a mature adult. He's weird. Must be a demon.
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Speaker 1: He's demonized. And then I came and Matthew had a
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Speaker 1: party and I sat down at his table for the
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Speaker 1: meal with all of Matthew's friends, a mixture of unbelievers
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Speaker 1: that Matthew once shouldered with and had a career alongside of,
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Speaker 1: and he wanted me to be there. And so I
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Speaker 1: came among them and yep, some were outcasts. Yes, some
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Speaker 1: drank too much. Some used words that you don't consider
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Speaker 1: worth hearing. And I sat among them, but you had
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Speaker 1: no idea of my message to them. However, you're busy
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Speaker 1: calling me a glutton and a drunkard. All I am
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Speaker 1: is a barfly, an inebriated drunk. That's how you see me.
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Speaker 1: These are strong words spoken to those people, and they're
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Speaker 1: standing there exposed. You want things your way and you
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Speaker 1: will not conform to this agenda. I can assure you
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Speaker 1: your agenda means nothing to me. What I have to
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Speaker 1: say is a message for all of you to hear
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Speaker 1: and heed. And you've criticized it. You've walked away from it.
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Speaker 1: These are serious charges. What a series of rebukes. All
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Speaker 1: of those today who think of Jesus as meek and
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Speaker 1: mild haven't really digested Matthew 12, Matthew 11, 12 to 26.
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Speaker 1: These are strong words. Because they would not heed his message,
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Speaker 1: he told them the truth about what they faced. And
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Speaker 1: he isn't through. He hasn't finished. Beginning at verse 20,
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Speaker 1: He begins to denounce towns that had seen a lot
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Speaker 1: of him and watched him work and heard him teach
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Speaker 1: and witnessed his miracles. He names them for us. Look
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Speaker 1: at what the verse says. Jesus began to denounce the towns,
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Speaker 1: note this, for he had done so many of his
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Speaker 1: miracles because they hadn't repented of their sins and turn
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Speaker 1: to God. Woe to you, Chorazin. Woe to you, Bethsaida.
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Speaker 1: Woe to you, Capernaum. The words are repeated and they
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Speaker 1: are anguishing words of sorrow, not anger. He's heartbroken. Now,
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Speaker 1: Maybe about now you're missing it because we're not familiar
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Speaker 1: with these places. So this gives me a chance to
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Speaker 1: turn to the maps. Oh, I've just been waiting for
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Speaker 1: this opportunity recently. And now we have a chance to
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Speaker 1: do it. Go back to the map of the ministry
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Speaker 1: of Jesus. Okay. In the back of your Bible. I
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Speaker 1: see three people turning to the back of their Bibles.
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Speaker 1: Come on, folks. Turn back there, take a look at
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Speaker 1: the map, and I'll show you the towns. Then I'll
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Speaker 1: explain why I call them the triangle of evangelicalism. It's
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Speaker 1: an evangelical triangle of towns. When you're at the right map,
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Speaker 1: you'll see three large bodies of water. The Mediterranean is
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Speaker 1: on your left to the west. The Dead Sea is
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Speaker 1: the larger body of water inland down south in Judea.
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Speaker 1: If you go north up the Jordan River, you'll come
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Speaker 1: to the small body of water called the Sea of Galilee.
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Speaker 1: Look at the Sea of Galilee. Let your eyes study
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Speaker 1: the north end. Look up at the top of the
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Speaker 1: Sea of Galilee. You will find Chorazin. You will find Bethsaida.
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Speaker 1: And you will find Capernaum. You see them? See them?
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Speaker 1: He's talking about those three towns. Now, why? Because this
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Speaker 1: was the area where Jesus spent much of his time
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Speaker 1: and performed many of his miracles. You know what's interesting?
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Speaker 1: Nowhere else do we read anything significant or hardly the
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Speaker 1: name Chorazin and Bethsaida. Only here. Now we read of
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Speaker 1: Capernaum because that's sort of his home away from home.
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Speaker 1: It's where Peter lived and his mother-in-law lived with them.
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Speaker 1: It's where Jesus called the disciples along the shore, the
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Speaker 1: northernmost part of the Sea of Galilee. It's where Jesus
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Speaker 1: kept returning to after he had done ministry elsewhere. So
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Speaker 1: we read of Capernaum, but Bethsaida and Chorazin are virtually unknown.
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Speaker 1: Why is that significant? Well, I'm reminded of the last
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Speaker 1: verse in the Gospel of John. Many other things Jesus
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Speaker 1: did and taught which are not contained in this book.
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Speaker 1: If they were all recorded, right down to the last detail,
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Speaker 1: the world could not contain the books. So to put
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Speaker 1: it bluntly, we know much less than we know more
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Speaker 1: of what Jesus did and said than we wish we did.
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Speaker 1: We really know very little. Only what is revealed in
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Speaker 1: the Gospels and mentioned from time to time in the letters.
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Speaker 1: And here's a classic case in point. Not a word
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Speaker 1: is said of what he did in Chorazin or the
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Speaker 1: works he carried out in Bethsaida. But they knew. Because
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Speaker 1: some of these people were from there. Why the words
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Speaker 1: of sorrowful anguish? Because they didn't care. It's a statement
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Speaker 1: regarding their indifference and their passivity. When I was a
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Speaker 1: student in seminary, I remember one of our lecturers came,
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Speaker 1: and I forget his subject now, but I'll never forget
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Speaker 1: one of his lines. He made the statement, To this day,
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Speaker 1: I can remember the moment I heard it. Passivity is
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Speaker 1: an enemy. Another word for passivity would be indifference. Business
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Speaker 1: as usual. Kind of a, who cares? I read about
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Speaker 1: a teacher who was teaching high school and there were
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Speaker 1: always these two boys sitting up near the front who
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Speaker 1: got there too late to get a back seat. And
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Speaker 1: they were bored and made it known to the teacher
28:49
Speaker 1: that they were bored. And one day he just got
28:51
Speaker 1: his belly full of it, turned around to the chalkboard
28:54
Speaker 1: back in those days. And as the sparks flew from
28:58
Speaker 1: the chalk, he wrote, A-P-A-T-H-Y. and underlined these big six-inch
29:07
Speaker 1: lettered A-P-A-T-H-Y. That is your problem. One of the kids
29:15
Speaker 1: looked at the other, goes apathy. What does that mean?
29:23
Speaker 1: The other guy goes, who cares? That's Bethsaida. That's Chorazin.
29:35
Speaker 1: That's the Bible belt. And we're the buckle of it.
29:42
Speaker 1: Right where we live. Points east and points west and
29:47
Speaker 1: a little point toward the north and you're in the belt.
29:53
Speaker 1: Go to most any town and you'll find churches. Go
29:57
Speaker 1: to larger towns and you'll find hundreds of churches. Proclaiming, proclaiming, announcing, denouncing,
30:06
Speaker 1: declaring the truth, pleading for response, and it's business as usual.
30:14
Speaker 1: This is the Metroplex. Who cares? Got it? Let me
30:24
Speaker 1: go further. We who find ourselves in a church that
30:30
Speaker 1: believes in and constantly declares the truth. You hear more
30:35
Speaker 1: truth in one month than the average person will hear
30:39
Speaker 1: in his lifetime. You will hear the name of Jesus
30:46
Speaker 1: regularly when you are in this place of worship, and
30:49
Speaker 1: so you should. He is our message. You'll hear of
30:53
Speaker 1: his cross. You'll hear of his resurrection. You'll hear of
30:57
Speaker 1: his substitutionary death. You'll hear of his soon coming. You'll
31:02
Speaker 1: hear of his plan for his kingdom, where he will
31:05
Speaker 1: come as king of kings and lord of lords, literally
31:09
Speaker 1: set up his kingdom on this earth. You will hear
31:11
Speaker 1: that and hear that and hear that and hear that
31:14
Speaker 1: and hear that until, if you're not careful, you start
31:19
Speaker 1: to yawn. I've heard this before from somebody smarter than
31:24
Speaker 1: you are, are far more gifted take heed, men and women,
31:32
Speaker 1: in the Bible Belt. I warn you, I warn us,
31:40
Speaker 1: we who find ourselves in the core of evangelical conservatism
31:46
Speaker 1: need evangelism and the truth of God more than ever.
31:53
Speaker 1: I can guarantee you most of the people in your
31:56
Speaker 1: neighborhood have never once known a meaningful relationship with the
32:01
Speaker 1: living God. Many could not tell you in one sentence
32:06
Speaker 1: who is Jesus Christ. When we were building this building,
32:10
Speaker 1: we sent a group of people with clipboards, and we
32:13
Speaker 1: had them do that with great tact, asking a few questions,
32:17
Speaker 1: one of them at this mall here that had just
32:20
Speaker 1: been built, who to you is Jesus Christ? You have
32:25
Speaker 1: no idea how many responded, I don't know. One even
32:31
Speaker 1: said to his buddy, is this a trick question? Who
32:35
Speaker 1: is Jesus? What can he mean to you in your life?
32:40
Speaker 1: That's the point of this here. You who have conducted
32:45
Speaker 1: yourselves like children, petulant and spoiled, even when I've been
32:52
Speaker 1: among you, You've ignored it. How visible and how significant
33:01
Speaker 1: was Jesus' work among them? Look at what he says.
33:05
Speaker 1: If the miracles I did in you, this is verse 21,
33:09
Speaker 1: if the miracles I did in you, that is in
33:12
Speaker 1: your city, had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon,
33:16
Speaker 1: which epitomized pagan, Gentile corruption and a life of worthlessness,
33:23
Speaker 1: seacoast cities, If I'd done my work in Tyre and
33:27
Speaker 1: Sidon as I've done it here, the people would have
33:30
Speaker 1: repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap
33:34
Speaker 1: and throwing ashes on their head. All a colloquialism for
33:39
Speaker 1: abject humility. I'll tell you, Tyre and Sidon will be
33:44
Speaker 1: better off on Judgment Day than you, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum.
33:51
Speaker 1: And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, no.
33:55
Speaker 1: so proud of your seacoast town, talking about the beautiful
34:00
Speaker 1: view you have of the sea, the lovely flowers you're growing,
34:05
Speaker 1: the hillside. No, you'll be no better off if the
34:12
Speaker 1: miracles I did for you had been done in wicked Sodom.
34:15
Speaker 1: He goes even further than Tyre and Sidon. You would
34:20
Speaker 1: still be here today, tell you even Sodom will be
34:24
Speaker 1: better off on judgment day than you. Here is the
34:29
Speaker 1: evangelical triangle who had seen more of the truth and
34:34
Speaker 1: heard more of the truth than Dallas, Fort Worth, and
34:37
Speaker 1: San Antonio put together, or Austin, or El Paso, or
34:43
Speaker 1: out east to Tyler, or out west to Abilene and beyond. Why,
34:50
Speaker 1: what a difference it would make. But you, Here in
34:53
Speaker 1: the center, what are you doing about it? How have
34:58
Speaker 1: you responded? A couple of things stand out to me
35:04
Speaker 1: that I think are worth remembering, the kind of things
35:07
Speaker 1: we want to take home with us after a message
35:09
Speaker 1: like this. Here's the first. It's easy for people to
35:18
Speaker 1: forget the responsibilities of privilege. The greater your privilege, the
35:26
Speaker 1: greater your responsibility. The greater the truth, the more the truth,
35:31
Speaker 1: the more it must make a difference in how you live.
35:39
Speaker 1: But when you are privileged, it is easy to take
35:43
Speaker 1: it all for granted. Let me let you in on
35:48
Speaker 1: a little bit of my early life. I was not
35:54
Speaker 1: raised in a privileged environment. I remember when my mom
35:57
Speaker 1: and dad dropped to their knees at a previous place
36:00
Speaker 1: we were renting, and they were bringing before the Lord
36:05
Speaker 1: the opportunity to buy this house in East Houston. And
36:10
Speaker 1: they poured out their hearts to the Lord and asked
36:13
Speaker 1: him to guide them. After all, it would cost $ 5, 995
36:16
Speaker 1: to buy the home. And my dad struggled with whether
36:25
Speaker 1: they could afford it. Well, they worked out a way,
36:28
Speaker 1: and we moved. We moved to East Houston. Nice little neighborhood,
36:36
Speaker 1: very pleasant place to live. I didn't realize that we
36:41
Speaker 1: didn't have much. I thought everybody lived like we did
36:45
Speaker 1: on Quince Street there in East Houston. By the way,
36:49
Speaker 1: don't drive through there these days. They should have your
36:52
Speaker 1: windows rolled up, doors locked. Tough place. I didn't know
36:56
Speaker 1: it was tough. I thought every school had stabbings, which
37:01
Speaker 1: went on regularly through the school year where I went
37:04
Speaker 1: to high school. But I wasn't privileged. But had I been,
37:11
Speaker 1: I wonder if I would have become the man I
37:16
Speaker 1: am today for the grace of God. I remember when
37:21
Speaker 1: my daddy would say on a special Sunday afternoon, we
37:25
Speaker 1: would do this for a special activity. He said, let's
37:28
Speaker 1: all get in the car. We're going to drive to
37:30
Speaker 1: River Oaks. If you don't know, that's where the elite
37:38
Speaker 1: meet to eat and live. And my dad would say
37:42
Speaker 1: as we would get close, he said, you know, this
37:43
Speaker 1: is where there's old money. And I kept looking for
37:47
Speaker 1: old money. Where is the old money? They just want new.
37:53
Speaker 1: I'll take the old. And I kept looking for it.
37:55
Speaker 1: And we'd pull up in front of these beautiful homes
37:58
Speaker 1: and we'd stop and say, look, children, the three of
38:00
Speaker 1: us in the back seat looking around, he said, they
38:04
Speaker 1: have two bathrooms. I remember thinking, why? You do one
38:15
Speaker 1: in one and something else in another? I mean, is
38:18
Speaker 1: it And he said, and they have wall-to-wall carpet. And
38:25
Speaker 1: I said, what's carpet? But when you're privileged, it all
38:40
Speaker 1: deadens you if you're not careful. May I make the leap?
38:48
Speaker 1: Today we're all privileged. the home you live in and
38:53
Speaker 1: I live in, my granddad would have loved to have
38:57
Speaker 1: lived in a home like that. So would my folks.
39:05
Speaker 1: It's incredible how in the middle of where we find ourselves,
39:10
Speaker 1: we take so much for granted. What a privilege to
39:17
Speaker 1: have God's word taught believed, more importantly, obeyed, so that
39:26
Speaker 1: we pack meals for starving children? or we visit in
39:30
Speaker 1: our community to those who are in great need and
39:32
Speaker 1: can't come, or we take our music elsewhere and lift
39:38
Speaker 1: hearts that are heavy. Let's never, ever forget outside these
39:44
Speaker 1: walls is a lonely, privileged community. With great privilege comes
39:54
Speaker 1: great responsibility. I don't say this to shame any of us.
39:58
Speaker 1: I'm grateful for all that we have, and we have
40:01
Speaker 1: so much. How important to say rather regularly, Lord, keep
40:09
Speaker 1: my focus on things eternal. Guard me from gripping things temporal.
40:19
Speaker 1: Help me to still hear the words of Jesus. And
40:23
Speaker 1: to still imagine what it was like when he did
40:26
Speaker 1: the work of Messiah. And performed those miracles. Miracles. And
40:33
Speaker 1: Bethsaida and Chorazin and Capernaum yawned. We saw it. Woe
40:45
Speaker 1: to you. Woe to you. You're walking knee deep in it.
40:53
Speaker 1: The truth is all around you with a message that
40:57
Speaker 1: can transform your life. And you wonder what's for lunch
41:06
Speaker 1: or when you're going to get your next raise. People
41:14
Speaker 1: forget their responsibilities when they're privileged. Here's a second. Something
41:24
Speaker 1: tragic happens to those who are indifferent when surrounded by
41:30
Speaker 1: great opportunities. Passivity is an enemy. You become passive, don't
41:39
Speaker 1: answer out loud. You remember what was said from this
41:45
Speaker 1: pulpit just one week ago? Can you go back and
41:49
Speaker 1: pull from your notes something said regarding Matthew chapter four?
41:56
Speaker 1: or from one of the other passages we've dealt with
41:58
Speaker 1: or lives. God reveals the truth. At the same time,
42:05
Speaker 1: notice he also hides it. Look at the unusual, insightful prayer.
42:12
Speaker 1: Right in the midst of his presentation, Jesus prays. O Father,
42:19
Speaker 1: verse 25, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank
42:23
Speaker 1: you for hiding these things. Look at that. Thank you
42:29
Speaker 1: for hiding these things from those who think they're wise
42:31
Speaker 1: and clever. It's not a put down on the intelligent.
42:35
Speaker 1: Of course not. He never does that. It's those who
42:38
Speaker 1: think they're all knowing. Thank you for hiding it from them,
42:45
Speaker 1: but for revealing it to those who are childlike. Not childish,
42:50
Speaker 1: but childlike. What's that? Teachable. Anxious to learn. sitting on
42:56
Speaker 1: the edge of their seat, drinking it in. Yes, Father,
43:02
Speaker 1: it pleased you to do it this way. I love that.
43:09
Speaker 1: I have to say that you are among the most
43:12
Speaker 1: responsive gathering I've ever preached to. And I can't thank
43:18
Speaker 1: you enough. It means you're listening. It means you're taking
43:23
Speaker 1: it in. You're thinking about it. maybe making plans to
43:28
Speaker 1: do something because of it. How grateful I am for that.
43:36
Speaker 1: It means you're childlike, teachable, open, ready to hear, but
43:43
Speaker 1: those who are sophisticated, yawn, perfunctory spirit, business as usual.
43:55
Speaker 1: What's going on tomorrow? Who's playing in that game? Who
44:04
Speaker 1: will we be with next weekend? This is a privilege
44:09
Speaker 1: beyond measure, and it may not be ours forever. You
44:18
Speaker 1: and I may live to see the day when this
44:20
Speaker 1: service is interrupted and the terrorists arrive. Serious, serious stuff.
44:33
Speaker 1: And I might as well say it since I'm responsible
44:35
Speaker 1: to tell the truth. Hearing it and even liking it
44:39
Speaker 1: means nothing in light of eternity. You must believe this.
44:46
Speaker 1: Let me say it straight. If you do not know
44:49
Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you will
44:53
Speaker 1: not go to heaven when you die. Listen to this.
45:00
Speaker 1: Don't wait for another message. Don't put it off until
45:03
Speaker 1: you feel better. Don't think there will be a better time.
45:07
Speaker 1: You may not have a better time. So today, as
45:11
Speaker 1: you are alive and you are able to hear, heed
45:15
Speaker 1: this truth. Be different from those who listen, pass it off,
45:27
Speaker 1: and come back for another feeding. Make sure you know
45:33
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. I came across this story in my reading
45:39
Speaker 1: this week that puts it very well. Listen carefully. The
45:45
Speaker 1: preacher pounded on the pulpit and looked over at the
45:48
Speaker 1: casket and said, it's too late for Joe. He might
45:55
Speaker 1: have wanted to get his life together. He might have
45:58
Speaker 1: wanted to spend more time with his family. He might
46:02
Speaker 1: have wanted to do that, even believe in Jesus, but
46:06
Speaker 1: he's dead now. It's too late for Joe, but it's
46:13
Speaker 1: not too late for you. There's still time for you.
46:18
Speaker 1: You can still decide. You're still alive. Today is the
46:26
Speaker 1: day of decision for you. Then he went further. He
46:34
Speaker 1: told how a Greyhound bus several weeks ago had run
46:38
Speaker 1: into a funeral procession once on the way to the cemetery.
46:43
Speaker 1: And he said that could happen today in our funeral procession.
46:50
Speaker 1: So you should decide today now. Today is the day
46:54
Speaker 1: to decide and get your life together. Too late for
46:57
Speaker 1: old Joe, but it's not too late for you. husband
47:05
Speaker 1: and wife left, got in their car, too offended to
47:09
Speaker 1: go on further to the burial site. And on the
47:13
Speaker 1: way home, he said to his wife, have you ever
47:16
Speaker 1: seen anything as manipulative and as insensitive to that poor family?
47:22
Speaker 1: I found that disgusting. She said, well, I have to admit,
47:28
Speaker 1: I've never heard anything like it either. It was a
47:31
Speaker 1: little manipulative. And it was a little disgusting and insensitive.
47:41
Speaker 1: But you know what bothers me most? It was true.
47:48
Speaker 1: It was all true. My commitment is to tell you
47:56
Speaker 1: the truth. I will do that to my last day.
48:03
Speaker 1: All I ask in return, more importantly all the Lord
48:06
Speaker 1: expects in return, is that you give yourself to Jesus Christ.
48:13
Speaker 1: I mean you personally. Trust him. Invite him to invade,
48:22
Speaker 1: take up residence, and change your whole direction so that
48:28
Speaker 1: you become different. than you have been all your previous years,
48:34
Speaker 1: and he will come and do that. Please bow with me.
48:45
Speaker 1: Just sit right there and be very still. Are you
48:51
Speaker 1: absolutely certain, without a doubt, without a question, that the
48:58
Speaker 1: Lord Jesus Christ lives in your life Because you have
49:04
Speaker 1: trusted him as your savior. If you are not, your
49:12
Speaker 1: future is frightening. Not only will you know a restlessness
49:18
Speaker 1: and an uneasiness, about carrying on through the days that
49:23
Speaker 1: you're living, hell awaits you. It need not be your destiny.
49:34
Speaker 1: Trust in the Lord Jesus. Turn to him now. Believe
49:41
Speaker 1: in him at this moment. Since you were really small,
49:47
Speaker 1: you remember, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the
49:53
Speaker 1: Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong, they're weak,
50:01
Speaker 1: but he is strong. But I speak now to big ones. Unfortunately,
50:11
Speaker 1: you've gotten strong and independent. And you tend to go
50:20
Speaker 1: your own way. You dare not do that. I warn you.
50:31
Speaker 1: Trust in the Lord Jesus. He who has the Son, S-O-N,
50:36
Speaker 1: has the life. He who does not have the Son
50:39
Speaker 1: of God does not have the life. Trust in him.
50:47
Speaker 1: If we can help you in that journey from earth
50:49
Speaker 1: to heaven, that is why we are here. Not just
50:53
Speaker 1: to pack food for the hungry. Not just to sing
50:57
Speaker 1: our songs to the needy. Or to visit those who
51:02
Speaker 1: can't come to church. Our desire is to touch your
51:08
Speaker 1: life with the gospel of Jesus Christ and to have
51:13
Speaker 1: your life changed because you believe it. Come today. Believe today.
51:27
Speaker 1: Our Father, we find ourselves in an evangelical circle. And
51:35
Speaker 1: it is easy in this hot house to become indifferent,
51:41
Speaker 1: to yawn our way through our lives. While bragging about
51:48
Speaker 1: a church we attend, it's possible to be living our
51:55
Speaker 1: lives without heaven as our destination. I pray that you
52:01
Speaker 1: would give a sense of restlessness and sleeplessness and uneasiness
52:07
Speaker 1: to those who have never trusted in Christ. Bring them
52:12
Speaker 1: by faith to your Son, Jesus, that he might begin
52:17
Speaker 1: a work of transformation, transferring their sin for his righteousness.
52:25
Speaker 1: Commit each one who is lost to you that they
52:29
Speaker 1: may come to Christ. In whose name I pray. And
52:37
Speaker 1: for his sake alone. Everyone said. Amen.
52:44
Speaker 2: The preceding message. When Jesus turned up the heat. Was
52:48
Speaker 2: copyrighted in 2016 and 2021. And the sound recording was
52:53
Speaker 2: copyrighted in 2021. By Charles R. Swindoll Inc. All rights
52:58
Speaker 2: are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use
53:03
Speaker 2: is strictly prohibited.